This is the largest randomized control trial ever done in the field of autism when it comes to a behavioral intervention. The study, published in the April 21, 2015 JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), included central Ohio families.

Autism spectrum disorder affects an estimated 6 in 1,000 children worldwide. In addition to its defining features, as many as 50 percent of children with ASD exhibit behavioral problems, including tantrums, noncompliance, aggression and self-injury. These behaviors interfere with performance of daily living skills, limit the child’s ability to benefit from educational and rehabilitative services, and may increase social isolation.

Lecavalier and a team of researchers from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, as well as researchers from Emory University, Indiana University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester and Yale University, conducted a 24-week parent training study designed to effectively reduce serious behavioral problems in young children with ASD. The study included 180 families with children 3 to 7 years old with autism

Researchers randomly assigned the families of these 180 children with ASD to parent training or parent education programs. Programming included 11 sessions of one-on-one therapy, brief coaching, intervention and homework. Parent education provided useful information about ASD without providing specific techniques to reduce the disruptive behaviors.

While parent ratings of child behavior improved in both groups, the parent training program showed behavior problems were reduced by almost half, compared to roughly 30 percent for those in the parent education group.

“The results are overwhelmingly in favor of parent training when it comes to managing disruptive and noncompliant behavior in young children with ASD,” said Lecavalier. “We thought the outcomes would send a clear message, but we didn’t expect the tremendous number of parents who responded so positively.”

In addition, a clinician who was blinded to the treatment assignments reported 70 percent of the children with ASD in the parent training group showed a positive response, compared to 40 percent for parent education programs. Also, 79 percent of children who showed positive response to parent training intervention at week 24 maintained improvement six months post-treatment.

Lecavalier said parent training is an exportable treatment method for young children with ASD that could be implemented across a wide range of settings, such as clinics and schools. He also believes results of the study may inform policy discussions.

“Parents of young children with ASD face many unknowns and we’re hopeful that our study’s results will empower other parents to seek efficient methods to manage serious disruptive behavior,” Lecavalier said.