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Effects of a Parent-Mediated Multimodal Communication Intervention on Communicative Behaviors in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have communication deficits that lead to difficulties in expressing their needs and establishing relationships with others. Parent-mediated intervention is a method to improve communication skills of children with ASD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of parent-mediated multimodal communication intervention with behavioral strategies on communication outcomes of children with ASD. Results indicated that children’s communicative behaviors improved as their parents learned intervention strategies. There was a moderate positive correlation between parent implementation and the child’s target behavior. Effect sizes of individual types of communication across participants ranged from small to large. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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Funding

This work was supported in whole or part by grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Autism Grant Program. Coach to Communicate (C2C): Partnering to Improve Communication for Individuals with Autism. Awards No. 17108 and 20465 and the Preparation of Leaders in Autism Across the Lifespan grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (Grant No. H325D110046). The opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of the THECB or the U.S. Department of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Special Education, National Taiwan Normal University, 162, Section 1, Heping East Road, Taipei City, 106, Taiwan

    Ching-Yi Liao

  2. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    J. B. Ganz, Sanikan Wattanawongwan, April N. Haas & Sarah K. Ura

  3. University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Kimberly J. Vannest

  4. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

    Kristi L. Morin

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  1. Ching-Yi Liao
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Liao, CY., Ganz, J.B., Wattanawongwan, S. et al. Effects of a Parent-Mediated Multimodal Communication Intervention on Communicative Behaviors in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Educ. Treat. Child. 45, 321–339 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-022-00072-8

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