Transporting and implementing a caregiver-mediated intervention for toddlers with autism in Goa, India: evidence from the social ABCs.
Jessica A Brian, Erin M Dowds, Kate Bernardi and 3 others
PMID 38420365WHAT IT FOUND
Parents coached in a 6-week group program in India used strategies correctly in 77% of intervals, up from 45%.
Toddlers' vocal responses to parents rose from 7% to 47%. Without a control group, these gains cannot be separated from normal development or time.
Key findings
01Parent fidelity of implementation increased significantly from 45.42% to 76.77% after the 6-week coaching period.
02Toddler vocal responsiveness to parent-provided communication opportunities increased significantly from 7.00% to 46.58%.
03Changes in parent-reported stress did not reach statistical significance (p = .056), and the study was under-powered to detect a small effect with the available sample size of 24.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
There was no control group, so improvements cannot be distinguished from natural development or the passage of time. Video coding was not blinded, and inter-rater reliability checks were not reported. Parent questionnaire data were missing for more than half the sample (n = 24), leaving the study under-powered to detect changes in parenting stress. Questionnaires were not available in local languages, requiring interview-format administration which may have affected standardisation.
Declared interests
Training was supported by the Divi's Foundation for Gifted Children and the Kids Brain Health Network, Canada. The lead author received a research grant from the latter. The authors declared no other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude the intervention caused the gains. The study had no control group, so the improvements in parent fidelity and toddler responsiveness could reflect normal development or time alone rather than the specific effect of the Social ABCs program.