Training parents and educators on applied behaviour analysis (ABA). play-based, and speech-language interventions for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

This thesis explores the effectiveness of parent and educator-delivered interventions for school-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A literature review and two studies were conducted on data collected by the Secretaría de Educación y Cultura [Secretariat of Education and Culture] and Explora tu Potential A.C. [Explore your Potential A.C.] Project (SEC-ETP) to examine the outcomes of training and interventions for students diagnosed with ASD enrolled in public schools across the state of Sonora, Mexico, as well as their parents and educators.

The first study aimed to assess the impact of parent and educator training on instructional self-efficacy, perceptions of a working alliance, and support provided by SEC. Results showed significant improvements in scores for instructional self-efficacy for parents and educators from in-person and teleconference training cohorts. However, there was a significant increase in scores related to play-related interventions for the teleconference parent cohort, but not the in-person cohort.

The second study aimed to examine the effectiveness of parent-delivered interventions in the home setting and the parent and student outcomes. Results showed no significant improvements in ASD severity scores between pre and post-intervention periods. However, there were some notable relationships between measures of frequency of intervention and number of specific acquired skills.

This thesis highlights the need for further research on parent and educator-delivered interventions for school-age children with ASD. The findings suggest that naturalistic development-based interventions (NDBIs) or ABA-based interventions complemented by NDBIs may be more appropriate in home and school settings and that there is a need for more robust support via training of parents and educators for interventions to effectively take place. Additionally, more research is needed to understand the limitations of these interventions and the potential biases that may have affected the results of the studies.

The author's personal and professional investment in the development and implementation of the interventions, as well as in the publication of this work as a doctoral thesis, could have contributed to confirmation bias and affected the stakeholders' willingness to adhere to the intervention models and present the project in a positive light. It is important to carefully consider and address these conflicts of interest to ensure the reliability and credibility of the research findings.