Online Parent Training for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Prototype Development of the On-Demand Type.

Abstract

Background: Parent training (PT) is a promising support for improving parents' mental health, and behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In recent years, there has been an increase in online PT studies. We developed a prototype for the on-demand PT. In this study, we examined changes in the program implementation, accomplishment of homework, parents' mental health, and behavior of children among parents of children with ASD.

Methods: This study participated two mothers of children with ASD. The first was the mother of a child aged three years and eight months with ASD and intellectual disability; the second was the mother of a child aged four years and 5 months who had a diagnosis of ASD. An on-demand PT consisting of six sessions was provided online. The program was structured so that the participants watched lecture videos for each session, answered a confirmation test, and submitted homework to advance to the next session. Feedback for the submitted homework and questions was provided via email by the researchers.

Results: Both participants watched the program on a schedule for all sessions and submitted all tests and homework assignments. The percentage of correct responses to the tests per session was 100% for both participants. Two of the four target behaviors of the children changed significantly. Pre- and post-questionnaires also showed improvements in the scores of parental depression and parenting stress, as well as overall behavior of the child.

Conclusion: The program in this study was developed as a prototype for on-demand PT, and two case studies showed positive results. Although this program was on-demand, changes in parent and child behaviors were confirmed by the scale and actual behavior records. Further demonstration is needed to increase the number of cases and to compare the results between the groups.