COMPASS for Hope: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Parent Training and Support Program for Children with ASD.
An 8-week telehealth parent course lowers stress and child problem behavior for rural autism families, and a newer hybrid format works even better.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested an 8-week telehealth program called COMPASS for Hope (C-HOPE). They worked with rural families who have a child with autism.
Parents joined live video classes and used online worksheets. A wait-list group served as the comparison.
What they found
After C-HOPE, parents said they felt less stress and more able to handle daily challenges. They also saw fewer problem behaviors from their kids.
The wait-list families had no change. Once they got the program later, they showed the same gains.
How this fits with other research
Rodgers et al. (2025) used the same C-HOPE lessons but added a message board between live calls. Their hybrid setup produced even bigger child-behavior gains, so it now supersedes the 2018 model.
Corona et al. (2021) also used telehealth parent coaching with toddlers. Both studies found positive child and parent outcomes, showing the idea replicates across age groups.
Divan et al. (2019) moved the concept further, training lay workers in rural India to deliver parent coaching. Core autism signs stayed flat, yet parent stress still dropped, extending C-HOPE’s reach to low-resource settings.
Why it matters
If you serve rural families, C-HOPE gives you a ready-made 8-week telehealth package that cuts parent stress and child problem behavior. Upgrade to the 2025 hybrid version for larger effects: add an async discussion board and keep the weekly live call. No travel, no wait-list, just log in and coach.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Despite the growing number of studies that demonstrate the importance of empowering parents with knowledge and skills to act as intervention agents for their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there are limited examples of parent-mediated interventions that focus on problem behaviors. Additionally, access to ASD-trained clinicians and research supported delivery options for families in rural areas is severely limited. COMPASS for Hope (C-HOPE) is an 8-week parent intervention program that was developed with the option of telehealth or face-to-face delivery. Parents who received C-HOPE intervention reported a reduction in parenting stress and an increase in competence. Parents also reported significant reductions in child behavior problems, both when compared to pre-intervention levels and to a waitlist control condition.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2018 · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3333-8