Parent coaching intervention program based on the Early Start Denver Model for children with autism spectrum disorder: Feasibility and acceptability study.
An 8-week community parent-coaching ESDM program is practical and lifts parent teaching skills to 91 % fidelity while families wait for intensive services.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Abouzeid et al. (2020) ran an 8-week parent-coaching program based on the Early Start Denver Model. Ten families of preschoolers with autism joined the community clinic classes.
Parents learned to use ESDM teaching moves during play and daily routines. Coaches watched, gave feedback, and tracked how closely parents followed the model.
What they found
Every family stayed to the end and gave the program top marks for usefulness. Parents hit 91 % fidelity on average and showed clear gains in their teaching skills.
Kids were not formally tested, but moms and dads said they felt more confident and saw their children respond more often.
How this fits with other research
Laister et al. (2021) used the same ESDM parent-coaching style for a full year. They found that when children gained social-communication skills, maternal stress dropped. The 2020 pilot shows the first step—parents can learn the moves quickly.
Gerow et al. (2021) and Van der Donck et al. (2023) moved the coaching online and still hit high fidelity. Their results extend Nadia’s clinic model to telehealth, proving distance is not a barrier.
Solomon et al. (2007) and Mahoney et al. (2016) tested PLAY/DIR home programs with similar pre-post designs. Both sets of studies show brief parent coaching works; the newer ESDM papers simply swap in a different manual.
Why it matters
You can launch a short, low-cost ESDM parent group while families sit on wait-lists. Eight weeks is enough for parents to reach solid fidelity and feel confident. If you later shift to telehealth or longer programs, the same coaching steps apply—just keep giving live feedback and tracking fidelity every session.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A parent coaching intervention program was launched in a Quebec community-based organization for autism spectrum disorder. This initiative was intended to support families following the child's diagnosis, as they awaited public early intensive behavioral intervention services. The parent-mediated intervention program, based on the Early Start Denver Model, included a 3 h parent group training, an initial assessment followed by the development of an individualized intervention plan, 8 weeks of live coaching, a final assessment to evaluate children's progress, and a feedback meeting with families. The present study used a mixed-method design to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the program. Ten families (ten mothers and three fathers) and four coaches participated in the present study. Parents and coaches perceived and achieved high levels of implementation overall (91 %) and there was a moderate improvement of parents' teaching skills. All participating families and coaches were satisfied or highly satisfied with the program and found it acceptable.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103747