A Review of Effective Strategies for Parent-Delivered Instruction

Morris and colleagues pulled together everything we know about teaching parents to teach their kids.

They turned the big ideas into a one-page handout any BCBA can print and hand over.

The paper is a narrative review, so it sums up best practices rather than running new experiments.

The team lists the core skills parents need: give clear instructions, wait for responses, and praise small wins.

The handout fits on one page so parents can tape it to the fridge and check it before each teaching moment.

Helton et al. (2018) also gives you a ready-to-print parent guide, but shows how to build one yourself.

LaBrot et al. (2021) tested a short group class that teaches the same clear-instruction skill and saw child compliance jump the same day.

Hippman et al. (2023) looked at 30 virtual parent-coaching studies and found the biggest payoff is cutting disruptive behavior—evidence that these basic skills work even through a screen.

Li et al. (2015) adds a timing tip: parents pick up 70 % of new strategies in the first month, so front-load your coaching early.

You now have a single sheet that tells parents exactly what to do and when.

Print it, review it in the first session, and watch parents use clearer instructions before you even introduce complex programs.