Clinical trial NCT03205475: JASPER Implementation in NFLD
Official title: JASPER Implementation Cascade: Newfoundland and Labrador
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder
Keywords: Training
Intervention
Social Communication
Play
Lead sponsor: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Sponsor class: OTHER_GOV
First posted: 2017-07-02
Enrollment: 27
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 24
Maximum age (years): 97
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation) is a play based targeted social communication intervention. Sessions will be delivered one on one by an interventionist in training with a child age 2.0-8.11 years who has autism.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study will focus on examining the supports required to enable community Senior JASPER Trainers to support the training and development of junior interventionists throughout the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The study will examine the training and supports delivered by Senior Trainers to help junior interventionists provide a targeted social communication intervention (JASPER: Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation) with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children's engagement, play, and social communication outcomes will be examined as well as the influence of junior interventionists' intervention implementation on children's outcomes. Further, the study will examine the supports required to help junior interventionists who demonstrate slower gains in implementation fidelity after the first three months of standard support. Interventionists who are slow to gain implementation fidelity will be randomized to either (a) enhanced feedback plus peer support or (b) enhanced feedback plus intensive refresher course.

Detailed description: The proposed study is an adaptive intervention trial that will focus on tailoring supports for new JASPER interventionists. Coaching and training supports will be provided by Local Senior JASPER Trainers will support the development of new interventionists. Based on the interventionist's individual response to the coaching/training supports, a change in support may be provided at a priori time points including end of month 1 (training case) if at least 70% fidelity is not reached, and at end of month 4 (midpoint of first child cohort), at least 90% fidelity is not reached.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Children: Must be 2.0-8.11 years of age; must meet the scoring benchmark for "autism" or "autism spectrum disorder" on the ADOS-2; has not previously received JASPER intervention in the province
* Interventionists: Work as an interventionist for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; minimum educational requirement is a Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree in Psychology or a related field
* Senior JASPER Trainers: - Have been trained previously in JASPER; Work as a Senior Trainer for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; Minimum educational requirement is a Master's degree in a related field (e.g., Speech and Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Developmental Psychology).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Children: Child is below 2.0 years of age or above 8.11 years of age; Child does not meet the benchmark for autism or autism spectrum disorder on the ADOS-2; Child has received JASPER intervention prior to this study
* Interventionists: Not employees of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; does not hold a Bachelor's degree in a related field
* Senior Trainers: No prior JASPER training; Not employees of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; does not hold a Master's Degree in a related field

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in JASPER Strategy Implementation Fidelity
timeFrame: Entry, 1 month, 4 months, and 7 month exit
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in Children's Joint Engagement
timeFrame: Entry for cohort two (month 2), half way (month 4), and exit (month 7)
measure: Change in Children's Play Skills and Social Communication Skills
timeFrame: Entry for cohort two (month 2), half way (month 4), and exit (month 7)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: St. John's
country: Canada
facility: Department of Health and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
state: Newfoundland and Labrador
Study officials:
affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles
name: Connie Kasari, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: