NCT04467073

Stepped-care Telehealth for Young Children With ASD

Examining a Stepped-care Telehealth Program for Parents of Young Children With Autism: a Proof of Concept Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: Rush University Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 16 Months – 60 Months
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This proof-of-concept study addresses the gap in the access to care literature by examining a stepped-care version of a telehealth naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI), Online RIT. Online RIT is an interactive website introducing Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT), an NDBI focused on enhancing social imitation. RIT uses a naturalistic behavioral approach to teach object and gesture imitation to young children with ASD within a play-based context. The efficacy of RIT has been demonstrated through a small randomized control trial, several single-subject design studies, as well as in independent replications. Prior research also suggests that parents can be taught to effectively use RIT with their children in person, and two single-subject design studies detail the development and feasibility testing of Online RIT plus therapist assistance. These preliminary data suggest Online RIT may serve as an ideal platform for examining the potential of individualized telehealth delivery formats, such as stepped-care. Therefore, the goal of this study was to compare a stepped-care format of Online RIT to a waitlist control condition to determine initial feasibility and effectiveness of this innovative intervention and service delivery model.

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Online RIT	Online RIT presents RIT techniques in four sequential learning modules: (1) Setting Up For Success (2) Imitating your Child (3) Describing Play (4) Teaching Object Imitation. Each learning module includes an instructional video, quiz, interactive exercises, and at-home planning and reflection. The website also includes a video library, Frequently Asked Questions, downloadable visual aids, links to relevant external resources, and a customizable "dashboard" that allows users to track their individualized goals and the amount of time they have spent working on their goals (e.g., practice log).

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-01-10
• Primary completion: 2017-08-30
• Completion: 2017-08-30
• First posted: 2020-07-10
• Last updated: 2020-07-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States