Feasibility of the Autism Navigator® JumpStart to Coaching in Everyday Activities course in South Africa.
Nola Chambers, Petrus J de Vries, Amy M Wetherby
PMID 38332664WHAT IT FOUND
Sixteen of 26 South African autism service providers finished a web-based caregiver coaching course in an average of 5.58 months.
Completers rated it feasible, but language barriers and slow completion are practical concerns.
Key findings
0116 of 26 enrolled providers completed the course (62%), taking an average of 5.58 months.
02Fourteen of the 16 completers who answered the post-training survey rated the course highly: acceptability 4.42, appropriateness 4.18 and feasibility 4.08 on a 1 to 5 scale.
03Lower self-rated English proficiency and lower education were associated with needing more attempts to pass some assessments, while no measured provider characteristic distinguished those who completed the course or the time taken.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study had only 26 providers and no comparison group, so it cannot show that the course caused better training or care. The course completion rate was 62%, and perceptions were collected only from 14 of the 16 completers, which may make the ratings look more positive. Many measures were used with a small sample, so correlations were only likely to detect large effects. The study did not assess whether providers implemented the caregiver coaching model with families or whether children improved. The programme developers covered the cost of course seats and supported the first author financially, which may influence how the course is judged. The study overlapped with COVID-19 lockdowns, and some providers may have completed the course more easily because normal work was disrupted. No changes were made to organisational schedules or workload, so providers had to fit the training into their usual work.
Declared interests
The Florida State University Autism Institute funded one author's time in the study. One author is the developer of Autism Navigator courses and owner of Autism Navigator LLC, but received no royalties or fees for this study. The programme developers covered the cost of participant seats and supported the first author financially.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 62% completion rate as evidence that the course improves care for autistic children. The study did not assess whether providers used the coaching model with families, and it reported no child outcomes.