Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by early and pervasive deficits in social orienting and social engagement. Although parent-implemented interventions using a range of responsive interactive techniques have demonstrated effectiveness to increase social engagement, more work is needed to examine how best to support a responsive parental style to increase social engagement in an exceptionally heterogeneous population. Emerging evidence suggests that contingent imitation (CI) may be a uniquely effective way to increase social engagement in children with ASD. This study used a multiple-baseline single case design across participants to examine how three caregivers learned to use CI at home with fidelity with their young children at-risk for or who had ASD. Results demonstrated that parents quickly acquired the accurate use of this simple technique at home. Furthermore, using CI with fidelity, caregivers sharply reduced their use of questions and directives during play. After caregivers were taught the CI procedure, positive changes in child social eye gaze were seen across intervention and maintenance phases. Implications for research and early intervention practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍的偶然模仿和幼儿风险

自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 是一种神经发育障碍，其特征是早期普遍存在的社会定向和社会参与缺陷。尽管使用一系列响应式互动技术的父母实施干预已证明可以有效提高社会参与度，但还需要做更多的工作来研究如何最好地支持响应式父母风格，以在异常异质的人群中增加社会参与度。新出现的证据表明，偶然模仿 (CI) 可能是增加 ASD 儿童社交参与度的独特有效方式。本研究使用跨参与者的多基线单案例设计来检查三位护理人员如何学会在家中忠实地使用 CI 来照顾有 ASD 风险或患有 ASD 的幼儿。结果表明，父母在家中很快就能准确地使用这种简单的技术。此外，通过忠实地使用 CI，看护人在玩耍时大大减少了他们对问题和指令的使用。在向看护者传授 CI 程序后，在干预和维护阶段都看到了儿童社交凝视的积极变化。讨论了对研究和早期干预实践的影响。