Promoting Inclusive Educational Environments for Children with Autism and Other Social-communication Challenges: Preschool Class and Primary School

NCT ID: NCT05509309

Last Updated: 2025-01-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 24 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-08-15
• Study Completion Date: 2024-07-01

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the effect of using the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale (APERS) as the foundation for providing feedback, in-service training and coaching to teachers, to improve program quality for autistic (ASD) students and students with related social-communication challenges (SCC) in Swedish primary school classrooms. In the current study half of the participating classrooms will receive the APERS-based model for program quality improvement, while the other half will receive services as usual.

It is hypothesized that the APERS-based model will improve primary school program quality for children with ASD and SCC, as well as improve functioning for students with ASD/SCC and self-perceived self-efficacy among participating teachers, compared to the study's comparison group.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Social Communication Challenges

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Experimental group

In the experimental group, in-service training on autism, program quality, and APERS will be provided to participating staff. Furthermore, APERS-rating to assess the program quality for students with ASD/SCC will be conducted. Pertaining feedback on program areas of strength and improvement will be provided by the APERS-raters to the classroom teachers.

Subsequently, assigned coaches (already employed at the school as special educators or equivalent) will based on the APERS-ratings develop an action plan to improve program quality for students with ASD and SCC, in collaboration with classroom teachers. Subsequently, the coach will provide weekly or bi-weekly coaching to promote program quality during the course of two school semesters (approximately 8-9 months).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

APERS-based model

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

APERS-assessments followed by in-service training, APERS-feedback and on-site coaching to improve primary school classroom quality for students with ASD/SCC

Comparison group

The classrooms in the comparison group will also be rated with the APERS, and feedback will provided to classroom teachers. However, no further support will be provided in transforming APERS-ratings with pertaining feedback into best practice.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

APERS-based model

APERS-assessments followed by in-service training, APERS-feedback and on-site coaching to improve primary school classroom quality for students with ASD/SCC

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• autism diagnosis
• socio-communicative challenges identified by parents and/or school staff
• attending a primary school classroom (i.e., from pre-school class to third grade)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 9 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Karolinska Institutet

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Stockholm University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Lise Roll-Pettersson

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Lise Pettersson Roll, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Stockholm University

Locations

Stockholm Municipality

Stockholm, , Sweden

Countries

Sweden

Other Identifiers

VR 2020-03267

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id