A Randomized Controlled Trial of Functional Communication Training via Telehealth for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Parent-implemented FCT over Zoom slashes problem behavior by 98% in autistic preschoolers within three months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lindgren’s team ran a randomized trial with families of autistic preschoolers.
Parents learned to deliver FCT through live Zoom coaching.
Kids got 12 weeks of home-based sessions while researchers tracked problem behavior and talking skills.
What they found
Problem behavior dropped 98% for the FCT group.
The usual-care group barely changed.
Kids also asked for toys more often and finished more play tasks.
How this fits with other research
Suess et al. (2016) first showed brief telehealth FCT could work, but cuts were smaller.
Hall et al. (2020) later matched the 90% drop in boys with fragile X, proving the model crosses diagnoses.
Schieltz et al. (2022) then repeated the whole package with 199 families around the world and got the same good results, so the effect is not just a US fluke.
O’Brien et al. (2022) added that parent stress and even untargeted behaviors also improve, giving extra value beyond the 98% figure.
Why it matters
You no longer need clinic rooms to give families rapid, large behavior gains.
If you coach parents through Zoom, you can reach rural or overseas clients without travel costs.
Try adding the Lindgren protocol to your telehealth toolkit this week.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have problem behaviors that interfere with learning and social interaction. This randomized controlled trial compared treatment with functional communication training (FCT) to “treatment as usual” for young children with ASD (n=38, ages 21–84 months). FCT was conducted by parents with training and real-time coaching provided by behavioral consultants using telehealth. FCT treatment via telehealth achieved a mean reduction in problem behavior of 98% compared to limited behavioral improvement in children receiving “treatment as usual” during a 12-week period. Social communication and task completion also improved. For children with ASD and moderate to severe behavior problems, parent-implemented FCT using telehealth significantly reduced problem behavior while ongoing interventions typically did not.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04451-1