Joint Attention Intervention for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Conditions
- Autistic disorder,
- Registration Number
- CTRI/2021/02/031159
- Lead Sponsor
- Ms Calida Pinto
- Brief Summary
Background
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core deficits in areas such as social interaction, non-verbal communication and
restricted/repetitive behaviours (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In Children with ASD (CwASD), decreased attention to the social world leads to deficits in
social and cognitive development (Murray et al., 2008). Deficits in social communication includes impairment in using nonverbal communicative behaviours, deficits in
establishing and managing appropriate relationships, and deficits in social emotion reciprocity (Soto, Gisserman-Kiss, & Carter, 2016). A large proportion of CwASD
have limited pre-linguistic skills, such as eye-contact and joint attention (JA), which are foundational for the development of verbal language (Bakeman & Adamson, 1984).
Parent-mediated joint attention training
Parents are children’s first communication partners, who also facilitate children’s intent to communicate. Despite varying in the way, they teach a new
language, almost all parents build up their child’s speech and language skills. As children spend a lot of their time at home with parents,
learning skills in such natural environments has been shown to be more effective, and facilitates generalization of learning. Hence, using a Parent Mediated
Intervention (PMI) might actually benefit the parents by strengthening parental skills, and by providing greater opportunities for learning in CwASD. In fact, research
over the last decade has focussed on parent-implemented interventions as a means of increasing social communication and reducing behavioural problems into the
home environment. Researchers have also been trying to develop programs to teach joint attention skills to young children using various types of approaches. One
such approach is facilitating joint attention in CwASD using PMI.
A recent study in India suggests that despite having lack of resources in multiple settings, having parent’s involvement leads to noticeable changes during the
behavioural intervention (Harshini & Preeti, 2017). A parent-child training program called Action for Autism (AFA) was adapted to the Indian context which was found
to empower parents, enhance acceptance, knowledge and ability to guide their children. The findings of this study indicated that child’s functioning improved along with
reduction in parental stress levels (Joseph & Muralidhar, 2018). Despite the strong evidence about the positive effects of parent-mediated intervention for both
parent and child, there are no studies which has looked into parent- mediated joint attention intervention for CwASD in the Indian context. Effective parent-mediated
interventions targeting joint attention for CwASD have been developed in high-income settings, but there is a dearth of literature in developing countries like India.
Need for the study
Based on the intervention studies that have been implemented in the Indian context, there is a need to develop and train parents using a parent-mediated joint attention
intervention to enhance joint attention skills in CwASD. Similarly, there is a need to explore if parent-mediated joint attention intervention can also facilitate language,
social and cognitive abilities in CwASD. The sociocultural differences in parenting style and resources related to JA intervention also needs to be specific to the Indian
context while evaluating a parent-mediated JA training in CwASD.
Aim
To evaluate the efficacy of a parent-mediated joint attention intervention in terms of joint attention and language skills in CwASD
Objectives
1) To develop and validate a parent-mediated joint attention intervention manual
2) To examine the influence of the parent-mediated joint attention intervention in children with ASD in terms of
- Parents’ implementation of strategies,
- RJA in CwASD
- Child’s language (receptive and expressive), cognition and social skills
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- Not Yet Recruiting
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 9
- Parents of CwASD who are willing to participate in all assessment and intervention sessions on a regular basis 2) Parents who agree to implement therapy techniques at home for a minimum of half an hour/day 3) Parents who are fluent in English will be selected based on the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) 4) Parents will be selected based on the interview questions to assess factors like the home environment, socio-economic status, family type, time/nature of interaction with the child etc.
- Parents who have known chronic psychiatric or locomotor disability 2) Parents with other child(ren) with disabilities.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method 1)Parent implementation of strategies Baseline | Weekly once during intervention | 1-week follow-up post intervention | 1-month follow up post intervention 2)Responding joint attention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Baseline | Weekly once during intervention | 1-week follow-up post intervention | 1-month follow up post intervention
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Language skills Social skills
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Kasturba Hospital
🇮🇳Udupi, KARNATAKA, India
Kasturba Hospital🇮🇳Udupi, KARNATAKA, IndiaCalida PintoPrincipal investigator9986996848calida.pinto@learner.manipal.edu