Parent Coaching in a Multimodal Communication Intervention for Children with Autism
A short online class plus personal Zoom coach trains parents to run multimodal communication lessons at home with solid fidelity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Liao et al. (2022) tested a web-first parent program. Parents joined a live online class. Then each family got one-to-one Zoom coaching.
The goal was clear: teach moms and dads to use signs, pictures, and speech together. The team tracked how well parents followed each step.
What they found
Parents learned the steps. Fidelity rose and stayed up. The relation was moderate but steady across families.
Kids were not the target, yet the home plan ran smoothly. Parents said the mix of group class plus personal coach felt doable.
How this fits with other research
Ferguson et al. (2022) ran a near-copy test. They also used Zoom to coach parents of kids with autism. Both studies show the same big point: live remote coaching works.
Yi et al. (2021) looks like a clash. They saw low fidelity in public early-intervention Zoom visits. The gap is real but explainable. Liao used a small, hand-picked sample and added one-to-one sessions. Yi watched busy public providers who had little training and no extra coach time.
Gerow et al. (2021) and Lancioni et al. (2008) stretch the idea further. Telehealth parent coaching helps kids learn daily tasks and first words, not just multimodal signs. The method keeps working when you shift the skill you teach.
Why it matters
You can run parent nights on Zoom instead of driving to homes. Start with a group webinar to teach the why and how. Then book 15-minute solo check-ins to watch mom practice signs and give live fixes. You save travel hours and parents still reach high fidelity. Try it next time a family waits for in-home slots.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Social-communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder often lead to undesirable outcomes in other domains, such as interpersonal relationships, employment, and participation in community activities. Parents may be ideal implementers of interventions to address these deficits when provided with instruction that is efficacious and feasible. This study evaluated a web-based group training and multimodal communication protocol of individualized parent coaching to improve parent implementation of communication intervention components. Results indicated a moderate functional relation between the parent-coaching intervention and parent implementation of the instructional behaviors. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1177/10883576221099896