title: Use of a Direct Observational Measure in a Trial of Risperidone and Parent Training in Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
abstract: A Structured Observational Analog Procedure (SOAP), an analogue measure of parent-child interactions, was used to assess treatment outcome in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and serious behavior problems. It served as a secondary outcome measure in a 24-week, randomized trial of risperidone (MED;N=49) versus risperidone plus parent training (COMB;n=75) (ages 4-13 years). At 24-weeks, there was 28 % reduction in child inappropriate behavior during a Demand Condition (p=.0002) and 12 % increase in compliance to parental requests (p=.004) for the two treatment conditions combined. Parents displayed 64 % greater use of positive reinforcement (p=.001) and fewer repeated requests for compliance (p<.0001). In the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), COMB parents used significantly more positive reinforcement (p=.01) and fewer restrictive statements (p<.05) than MED parents. The SOAP is sensitive to change in child and parent behavior as a function of risperidone alone and in combination with PMT and can serve as a valuable complement to parent and clinician-based measures.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Handen
authors.forename: Cynthia R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Butter
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lecavalier
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scahill
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Aman
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: McDougle
authors.forename: L Eugene
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: Naomi B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Swiezy
authors.forename: Denis G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Sukhodolsky
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mulick
authors.forename: Susan W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bearss
authors.forename: Jill A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hollway
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Stigler
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dziura
authors.forename: Sunkyung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Kelley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sacco
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vitiello
keywords: Autism; Autism spectrum disorder; Behavioral interventions; Clinical trials; Observational measures; Parent training