None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Infants with a family history of Autism Spectrum Disorder are at an increased risk of developing this disorder themselves. The provision of an early Acceptance and Commitment (ACT)-based therapy intervention aims to improve clinical outcomes for these infants by enriching parent-infant interactions, assisting with infant sleep, crying and fuss behaviours and supporting parental mental health. A randomised controlled trial will evaluate whether this intervention for parents of infants at risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder is effective, comparing this intervention with usual care. We expect that this intervention will improve the emotional availability of the parent-infant interaction, parental mental health as well as infant developmental outcomes.
Interventions
ENACT is a very early parenting intervention that is designed for mothers of infants that are at risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorder. It supports parent-infant interactions, targets parent-infant social reciprocity and supports parental mental health. The intervention is delivered online using the edX platform and is available to mothers when they are 6-8 months pregnant. The course uses acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to support parenting and parental mental health and contains
ENACT is a very early parenting intervention that is designed for mothers of infants that are at risk of developing Autism Spectrum Disorder. It supports parent-infant interactions, targets parent-infant social reciprocity and supports parental mental health. The intervention is delivered online using the edX platform and is available to mothers when they are 6-8 months pregnant. The course uses acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to support parenting and parental mental health and contains a teaching component that is designed to support parental responsiveness and non-intrusivness, and promote social reciprocity in infants. The course contains educational videos, homework assignments, discussion boards, educational activities, journal and reflection activities and mindfulness exercises. The ENACT online course consists of 5 modules and mothers are encouraged to move through the course at their own pace, with the goal that the mothers will complete the course before their baby is 8 weeks of age. Participants will also be offered fortnightly 20-30 minute video conferencing sessions with a clinician (a health professional with early intervention experience who has been trained ad supervised in the ENACT protocol) to support them as they move through the course. Website analytics on the edX platform will be used to monitor the completion of activities within the ENACT course. When their infant is 2 weeks of age, mothers will be encouraged to practice sensitivity chains with their infants, with a goal dose of 30 minutes a day/5 days a week until their infant is 12 months of age. This practice can be integrated into everyday interactions between the parent and the child. Participants will also be supported by regular clinician consultations over regular video conferencing sessions until the infant is 10 months of age.
Sponsors
Dr Koa Whittingham
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
To be included in the study potential participants must meet the following inclusion criteria: (1) the infant must have one or more biological siblings or a biological parent diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder; (2) the mother must agree to assessment requirements; (3) the mother must have reliable internet access; and (4) the mother must have sufficient English to complete the assessments.
Exclusion criteria
Infants with a known neurological or chromosomal disorder at the point of recruitment will be excluded.
Outcome results
None listed