Parent Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating a Modular Behavioral Intervention for Young Autistic Children.
Lynne Levato, Samantha Hochheimer, Hongyue Wang and 9 others
PMID 39989401WHAT IT FOUND
MAYAC, a lower-dose intervention with structured parent training, did not reduce parental stress or increase competence more than traditional comprehensive behavioral intervention.
Both approaches led to similar improvements in parent well-being over 48 weeks, despite MAYAC requiring significantly fewer intervention hours.
Key findings
01There were no significant differences between the MAYAC and CBI groups in parent stress on the Difficult Child scale or total score at any time point, nor in parental sense of competence.
02Both groups showed significant within-group decreases in parental stress and increases in parental sense of competence from baseline through the 48-week follow-up.
03The MAYAC group received an average of 5.09 hours of intervention per week, compared to 13.63 hours per week for the CBI group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was underpowered due to recruitment challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which also resulted in fewer intervention hours being delivered than originally planned. Parent outcomes were measured solely by self-report, with no objective physiological markers of stress. The sample was limited to military families who were predominantly white, well-educated, and two-parent households, restricting generalizability to other populations. The trial did not include a stand-alone parent-mediated intervention arm, so the specific contribution of parent training versus child-directed intervention cannot be isolated.
Declared interests
The investigators developed some of the materials used in the interventions and may receive royalties from them. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that MAYAC is superior because it showed faster early improvements in stress and competence. The between-group differences were not statistically significant at any time point, and both interventions resulted in equivalent outcomes by the end of the trial.