A parent-mediated intervention that targets responsive parental behaviors increases attachment behaviors in children with ASD: results from a randomized clinical trial.
The current study is a randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of Focused Playtime Intervention (FPI) in a sample of 70 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This parent-mediated intervention has previously been shown to significantly increase responsive parental communication (Siller et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 43:540-555, 2013a). The current analyses focus on children's attachment related outcomes. Results revealed that children who were randomly assigned to FPI showed bigger increases in attachment-related behaviors, compared to children assigned to the control condition. Significant treatment effects of FPI were found for both an observational measure of attachment-related behaviors elicited during a brief separation-reunion episode and a questionnaire measure evaluating parental perceptions of child attachment. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA, msiller@hunter.cuny.edu.
Michael
M
Siller
Meghan
M
Swanson
Alan
A
Gerber
Ted
T
Hutman
Marian
M
Sigman
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires