Changing Developmental Trajectories of Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Strategies for Bridging Research to Community Practice
Parents coached online with Autism Navigator videos can deliver ESI at home and produce measurable gains in toddler ASD social-communication within 3 months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents to watch short Autism Navigator clips at home.
Then a coach joined by video chat to guide practice with the toddler.
Kids were under three and had a new autism diagnosis.
The study lasted three months.
What they found
Toddlers talked, played, and engaged more after the web coaching.
Parents handled the daily lessons with little extra stress.
Gains showed up in social, language, and daily-living skills.
How this fits with other research
Gevarter et al. (2021) used the same telehealth idea with Latinx families.
They got good results after only one training plus two calls.
That extends Wetherby’s model to shorter, bilingual formats.
Perez et al. (2015) also coached parents online, but taught FCT instead of social play.
Problem behavior dropped 93 percent, showing the web model works for different goals.
Dolezal et al. (2010) ran an earlier, in-person parent program.
Their two-week pilot also lifted language and play skills.
Wetherby’s 2018 study updates that work by moving the coaching onto the web.
Why it matters
You can give families the Autism Navigator links today.
Schedule a weekly Zoom to watch and give feedback.
No travel, no wait list, and gains can show up in three months.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The need for community-viable, evidence-based intervention strategies for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a national priority. The purpose of this research forum article is to identify gaps in intervention research and needs in community practice for toddlers with ASD, incorporate published findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Early Social Interaction (ESI) model (Wetherby et al., 2014) to illustrate community-based intervention, report new findings on child active engagement from the ESI RCT, and offer solutions to bridge the research-to-community practice gap. Research findings were reviewed to identify gaps in the evidence base for toddlers with ASD. Published and new findings from the multisite ESI RCT compared the effects of two different ESI conditions for 82 toddlers with ASD to teach parents how to support active engagement in natural environments. The RCT of the ESI model was the only parent-implemented intervention that reported differential treatment effects on standardized measures of child outcomes, including social communication, developmental level, and adaptive behavior. A new measure of active engagement in the natural environment was found to be sensitive to change in 3 months for young toddlers with ASD and to predict outcomes on the standardized measures of child outcomes. Strategies for utilizing the Autism Navigator collection of web-based courses and tools using extensive video footage for families and professional development are offered for scaling up in community settings to change developmental trajectories of toddlers with ASD. Current health care and education systems are challenged to provide intervention of adequate intensity for toddlers with ASD. The use of innovative technology can increase acceleration of access to evidence-based early intervention for toddlers with ASD that addresses health disparities, enables immediate response as soon as ASD is suspected, and rapidly bridges the research-to-practice gap. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7297817
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2018 · doi:10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-RSAUT-18-0028