Effects of an Interactive Web Training to Support Parents in Reducing Challenging Behaviors in Children with Autism.
A 4-week self-guided website cut parent-reported challenging behavior in autistic kids, but high dropout and side effects mean use it as a booster, not a stand-alone.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Turgeon et al. (2021) built a 4-week, self-guided website that teaches parents how to cut challenging behavior in kids with autism.
They randomly split families into two groups. One group used the site right away. The other group waited.
Parents filled out surveys about child behavior and their own strategy use before, after, and 12 weeks later.
What they found
Parents who took the web course said their kids’ tough behaviors dropped and their own strategy use rose.
The wait-list parents saw no change. The trained parents kept their gains three months later.
Yet many parents quit the course and some reported extra stress, so the tool is not a solo fix.
How this fits with other research
Llanes et al. (2020) ran a similar fully-online course but taught PRT to parents of toddlers. Both studies saw positive parent and child gains, showing the web model keeps working across age and target skills.
Fischbacher et al. (2024) kept the same no-live-coach format but switched the lesson to speech devices. Their success extends the model: parents can master AAC strategies online, not just behavior tactics.
Capio et al. (2013) did an earlier in-home parent program called Prevent-Teach-Reinforce. It also cut problem behavior, yet needed home visits. The 2021 web trial moves that same PTR idea onto a screen, trading some dropout for wider reach.
Why it matters
You can add a short, low-cost web module to your parent-training menu today. Send the link as pre-work before live coaching starts. This front-loads basic concepts and lets your precious face-to-face hours focus on fine-tuning and troubleshooting. Just watch for signs of parent stress and keep personal check-ins in the plan—don’t rely on the site alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in challenging behaviors, which may interfere with their daily functioning, development, and well-being. To address this issue, we conducted a four-week randomized waitlist control trial to examine the effects of a fully self-guided interactive web training (IWT) on (a) child engagement in challenging behaviors and (b) parental intervention. After 4 weeks, parents in the treatment group reported lower levels of challenging behaviors in their children and more frequent use of behavioral interventions than those in the waitlist groups. Furthermore, within-group analyses suggest that these changes persisted up to 12 weeks following completion of the IWT. Our results highlight the potential utility of web training, but our high attrition rate and potential side effects prevent us from recommending the training as a standalone treatment.
Behavior modification, 2021 · doi:10.1177/0145445520915671