Study: NCT01614275

Intervention type: BEHAVIORAL
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Technology-Enhanced Parent Training
Description: The training for the parents of children with autism assigned to the EIBI group will begin with completion of a structured parent-training program for 6 weeks that includes 16 to 18 sessions (three, 90-minute sessions per week). When a new topic is introduced, the initial training will include viewing a Power Point presentation, with embedded video and audio, that explains, in laymen's terms, the basic principles and processes related to the topic. The second part of the training involves a parent recruiting an adult friend, who will play the role of a child with autism. The adult playing the child with autism will wear a Bluetooth earpiece connected to a computer, which in turn will be connected to a UNMC expert. The expert will guide the actions of the adult playing the role of the child such that this confederate child will exhibit a variety of target behaviors relevant to the target skill, which will provide an opportunity for immediate feedback.

Intervention type: BEHAVIORAL
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Technology-Enhanced Tutor Training
Description: The training for the tutors to work with children diagnosed with autism, who were assigned to the EIBI group, will complete a 40-hour structured training program for 4 to 8 weeks that includes approximately 32 sessions. When a new topic is introduced, the initial training will include viewing a PowerPoint presentation, with embedded video and audio, that explains, in laymen's terms, the basic principles and processes related to the topic. The second part of the training involves a tutor recruiting an adult friend, who will play the role of a child with autism. The adult playing the child with autism will wear a Bluetooth earpiece connected to a computer, which in turn will be connected to a UNMC expert. The expert will guide the actions of the adult playing the role of the child such that this confederate child will exhibit a variety of target behaviors relevant to the target skill, which will provide an opportunity for immediate feedback.

Intervention type: BEHAVIORAL
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Technology-enhanced Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention
Description: After training, the ABA tutor and parents will assist in the implementation of early intervention services that will be tailored to the particular needs of the family's child. These programs could include conducting a paired-stimulus preference assessment, using a natural language program to increase spoken communication, and using matching-to-sample methods to teach categorization skills. We will record and review at least an hour of the ABA tutor's and parents' interactions with the child per week during unstructured and structured teaching situations. The purpose of these observations is to determine whether the parents are implementing the teaching strategies or behavior-management programs as designed (i.e., treatment integrity measures). If the ABA tutor or parent implements a program with less than 80% accuracy across two consecutive observations, an additional scripted role-play will be conducted as a booster session for the targeted skills.

Intervention type: BEHAVIORAL
Group type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR
Intervention: No-Intervention
Description: The ABA tutors, parents/caregivers, and children will be randomly assigned to a wait-list control group.