Effect of Parent Training vs Parent Education on Behavioral Problems in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Type
Summary

Importance: Disruptive behavior is common in children with autism spectrum disorder. Behavioral interventions are used to treat disruptive behavior but have not been evaluated in large-scale randomized trials. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of parent training for children with autism spectrum disorder and disruptive behavior. Design, Setting, and Participants: This 24-week randomized trial compared parent training (n = 89) to parent education (n = 91) at 6 centers (Emory University, Indiana University, Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, Yale University). We screened 267 children; 180 children (aged 3-7 years) with autism spectrum disorder and disruptive behaviors were randomly assigned (86% white, 88% male) between September 2010 and February 2014. Interventions: Parent training (11 core, 2 optional sessions; 2 telephone boosters; 2 home visits) provided specific strategies to manage disruptive behavior. Parent education (12 core sessions, 1 home visit) provided information about autism but no behavior management strategies. Main Outcomes and Measures: Parents rated disruptive behavior and noncompliance on co-primary outcomes: the Aberrant Behavior Checklist_Irritability subscale (range, 0-45) and the Home Situations Questionnaire_Autism Spectrum Disorder (range, 0-9). On both measures, higher scores indicate greater severity and a 25% reduction indicates clinical improvement. A clinician blind to treatment assignment rated the Improvement scale of the Clinical Global Impression (range, 1-7), a secondary outcome, with a positive response less than 3. Results: At week 24, the Aberrant Behavior Checklist_Irritability subscale declined 47.7% in parent training (from 23.7 to 12.4) compared with 31.8% for parent education (23.9 to 16.3) (treatment effect, 3.9; 95% CI, 6.2 to 1.7; P < .001, standardized effect size = 0.62). The Home Situations Questionnaire_Autism Spectrum Disorder declined 55% (from 4.0 to 1.8) compared with 34.2% in parent education (3.8 to 2.5) (treatment effect, 0.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 0.3; P < .001, standardized effect size = 0.45). Neither measure met the prespecified minimal clinically important difference. The proportions with a positive response on the Clinical Global Impression_Improvement scale were 68.5% for parent training vs 39.6% for parent education (P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: For children with autism spectrum disorder, a 24-week parent training program was superior to parent education for reducing disruptive behavior on parent-reported outcomes, although the clinical significance of the improvement is unclear. The rate of positive response judged by a blinded clinician was greater for parent training vs parent education.

Citation
Bearss, K., Johnson, C., Smith, T., Lecavalier, L., Swiezy, N., Aman, M., McAdam, D. B., Butter, E., Stillitano, C., Minshawi, N., Sukhodolsky, D. G., Mruzek, D. W., Turner, K., Neal, T., Hallett, V., Mulick, J. A., Green, B., Handen, B., Deng, Y., Dziura, J., Scahill, L. (2015). Effect of Parent Training vs Parent Education on Behavioral Problems in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. JAMA, 313, 1524-1533. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.3150