Stress in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploration of Demands and Resources.

The team ran a randomized trial with families of elementary-school children with autism.

Half the families got COMPASS, a structured school-to-home consultation. The rest got usual services.

Researchers tracked parent stress and how closely parents and teachers worked together.

Parents who felt a strong team with the teacher saw a small drop in stress tied to school worries.

Parents who used COMPASS steps at home felt a little less stress about daily child care.

Each piece helped a different part of the stress puzzle; together they lightened the load.

Rodgers et al. (2025) later swapped face-to-face COMPASS for a hybrid telehealth model. They saw a medium, not small, drop in parent stress and big gains in child behavior. The newer format simply delivers the same engine with stronger results.

McGarty et al. (2018) tested the telehealth version two years after the original trial and again found lower stress. The pattern shows the consultation idea is solid and travels well from office to screen.

Bouck et al. (2016) looked wider and found poor extended-family support and wrong school placement explained almost half of parent stress. Their point: add family and school context to any consultation plan.

You can trim parent stress without adding extra therapy hours. Build a real alliance with parents first—share goals, copy them on notes, invite input. Then hand them the short COMPASS scripts for home use. These two moves take minutes, cost nothing, and now have three positive trials behind them.