Autism Spectrum Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
Early intervention, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Caregiver Implemented, Adaptive Intervention
Brief summary
The purpose of the LIFT study is to develop a technology-assisted adaptation of the JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation: Kasari et al., 2021) social communication intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In partnership with community early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) practitioners in Oregon, implementation strategies to help caregivers learn to the use the intervention strategies with their young children will delivered in a pilot randomized trial. The pilot trial will compare primarily self-directed learning through online materials and brief practitioner support (ONLINE) with the addition of live synchronous coaching (ONLINE + COACH) on caregivers' strategy use (primary) and children's joint engagement and social communication (secondary).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALONLINE
The ONLINE intervention applies the JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation: Kasari et al., 2021) social communication intervention for young children with autism. The JASPER approach has been tested in a caregiver-mediated format where caregivers are taught to use the JASPER strategies with their children during play and home routine (e.g., Kasari et al., 2010; Kasari et al., 2014). The JASPER intervention is being adapted in this study to include online web based materials.
BEHAVIORALCOACH
COACH includes live synchronous caregiver coaching in the JASPER intervention model. Coaching follows prior published JASPER caregiver coaching protocols (e.g., Shire, Shih, Barriault, & Kasari, 2022). This implementation strategy has been tested in a pilot study when applied by community early intervention providers (Shire, Baker Worthman, & Arbuckle, 2021).
Sponsors
University of Oregon
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Independent evaluators as well as outcome coders will be blinded to time point and treatment condition
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
No minimum to 72 Months
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Receiving Early Intervention (EI) or Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) services from partnered providers in Southern Oregon Education Service District (SOESD). * Child has received or is awaiting a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Exclusion criteria
* Child is not receiving services from a partnered educational service district
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Adoption: Caregiver Involvement Scale | Entry, Early Response (6 weeks), Exit (12 weeks), Follow up (24 weeks) | Using the Caregiver Involvement Scale, interventionists will rate caregivers' comfort, confidence, and accurate usage of the strategies with their child using seven questions rated from 1 (not comfortable) to 5 (very comfortable). Higher scores indicate greater adoption. |
| Change in Acceptability: Caregiver Diary | Entry, Early Response (6 weeks), Exit (12 weeks), Follow up (24 weeks) | Caregivers' ratings of their strategy use, confidence, and interest in using the strategies with their child. Each item is rating on a scale of 0-5 with higher score indicating greater acceptability. |
| Change in Fidelity: JASPER Coaching Fidelity | Coaching session 1 (week 1), last session of phase 1 (week 6), last session of phase 2 (week 12) | Interventionists' JASPER coaching will be measured to assess the local providers' ability to accurately deliver the intervention across families. The items are rated from 0 (strategy is missing) to 5 (high quality, consistent and appropriate strategy use) and are summed to obtain a total coaching fidelity percentage score. High scores indicate greater coaching fidelity. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Children's Time in Child Initiated Joint Engagement (Caregiver Child Interaction) | Entry, Early Response (6 weeks), Exit (12 weeks), Follow up (24 weeks) | Duration (time in seconds) the child is in a child initiated joint engaged state during the caregiver child interaction. |
| Change in Caregivers' JASPER Strategy Use: JASPER Implementation Fidelity | Entry, Early Response (6 weeks), Exit (12 weeks), Follow up (24 weeks) | Total JASPER Implementation Fidelity (percentage). Each item is rated on a score of 0 (skill is not present) through 5 (high quality, consistent use of the skill/strategy). Higher scores indicate greater use of JASPER strategies. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Initiations of Joint Attention (Short Play and Communication Evaluation) | Entry, Exit (12 weeks), Follow up (24 weeks) | Nonverbal and Spoken spontaneous initiations of joint attention coded by independent raters from the Short Play and Communication Evaluation (SPACE) |
| Change in Play diversity (Short Play and Communication Evaluation) | Entry, Exit (12 weeks), Follow up (24 weeks) | Number of different spontaneous play actions across play levels coded by independent raters from the SPACE |
Contacts
Primary ContactStephanie Y Shire, PhD
Outcome results
None listed