START THAT COEXISTENCE: THREE STUDIES OF PARENT RESPONSIVENESS TO CHILDREN WITH OR AT-RISK FOR AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Last Modified
  • March 19, 2019
Creator
  • Kinard, Jessica
    • Affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Allied Health Sciences, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences
Abstract
  • This dissertation includes three studies of parent responsiveness to children with or at-risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The first study examined the usefulness of a rating system compared with a coding system to measure parent responsiveness in an intervention study for toddlers at-risk for ASD. Two issues were examined: (a) correlations between parent responsiveness measured by the coding and rating systems; and (b) the sensitivity of the coding and rating systems to group changes in responsiveness. The coding and rating systems were significantly correlated on domains of responsiveness and affect, but not achievement or directiveness. Parents in the intervention group increased more in responsivity from entry to follow-up than parents in the control group as measured by the coding system, but not the rating system. The purpose of the second and third studies was twofold: (a) to examine the success of a parent responsiveness intervention (Adapted Responsive Teaching) for improving the social-communication of young children with ASD from Spanish-speaking families; and (b) to explore the caregivers' perspectives about the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention. The second study used a combined multiple baseline across participants and behaviors design. Baseline data were collected on social-communication behaviors for three Hispanic children with ASD (age range in years and months was 2.9 - 4.4). In the intervention, parents were taught responsiveness strategies to improve their child's social-communication. Treatment effects were demonstrated in: (a) two out of three children and (b) four out of seven targeted behaviors. These results provide moderate evidence for the ART intervention's effectiveness at improving social-communication in Hispanic children with ASD. In the third study, semi-structured interviews were completed with the children's parents before and after participating in the intervention. Qualitative analysis was used explore themes in these families' experiences. Overall, parents perceived that the parent responsiveness intervention was feasible and acceptable for their families, and felt that it would also be applicable to other Hispanic families of children with ASD. Families' perceptions about early interventions seemed to depend on how well the intervention (a) addressed the families' concerns and priorities and (b) incorporated the families' strengths.
Date of publication
Keyword
Subject
DOI
Identifier
Resource type
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Estigarribia, Bruno
  • Boyd, Brian
  • Haley, Katarina L.
  • Crais, Elizabeth
  • Watson, Linda R.
Degree
  • Doctor of Philosophy
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
Graduation year
  • 2015
Language
Publisher
Place of publication
  • Chapel Hill, NC
Access right
  • There are no restrictions to this item.
Date uploaded
  • June 23, 2015

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details Kinard_unc_0153D_15193.pdf 2019-04-12 Public Download