Hybrid Telehealth Adaptation of COMPASS for Hope: Parent-Mediated Outcomes in Autism

TL;DR

A new telehealth program for parents of children with autism improved child behavior and reduced parent stress, showing promise for wider access.

Contribution

The study introduces a hybrid telehealth adaptation of a parent-mediated intervention for autism.

Findings

Child behavior improved significantly with a large effect size (d = 0.73).

Parent stress decreased significantly with a medium effect size (d = 0.50).

No significant change was observed in parenting sense of competence.

Abstract

There are limited empirically supported interventions that target three outcomes—behavior of children with ASD (instead of using adjectives such as “disruptive,” “interfering,” “problem,” or “challenging” behavior, we use “behavior” to avoid ableist language), parent stress, and parenting sense of competence. To help address this need, we tested a hybrid telehealth adaptation of COMPASS for Hope (C-HOPE), an 8-week parent-mediated program originally offered via face-to-face or synchronous telehealth delivery. The present study incorporated asynchronous group discussion board sessions hosted on a learning-management platform together with synchronous individual coaching sessions by telephone. Using a pre-post design, 10 caregivers completed the intervention. Effect sizes were calculated for three treatment outcomes of child behavior, parent stress, and parenting sense of competence. There was a statistically significant difference in the scores for child behavior, with a large effect size (d = 0.73) and a statistically significant difference in parent stress, with a medium effect size (d = 0.50). No difference was observed for parenting sense of competence. Treatment adherence and caregiver satisfaction for the intervention were acceptable. Findings support the feasibility and promise of combining asynchronous and synchronous telehealth elements to increase access to evidence-based parent-mediated interventions for ASD.