Implementation of a Parent-Mediated Discrete Trial Teaching Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Stone-Heaberlin et al. (2023) tested the Bridge Skill Development Program.

Parents learned to run short, clear teaching trials at home.

All kids had autism and were waiting for full ABA services.

Every child gained four key skills after parents used the program.

Skills kept growing while families stayed on the clinic wait list.

Stewart et al. (2018) pooled 19 studies and saw small gains from parent coaching.

Stone-Heaberlin’s single-case design shows bigger change, likely because parents used pure DTT instead of mixed methods.

Martin et al. (2023) got similar child gains through telehealth parent training.

Breider et al. (2024) later proved the same idea works for older kids in a large RCT.

You can give families a ready-to-use DTT kit the day of diagnosis.

Parents start teaching right away, so kids don’t lose months on the wait list.

Try packaging your intake lessons into short parent modules and track one skill per week.