EFFECT OF PARENT-IMPLEMENTED INTERVENTION ON THE SOCIAL-COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social-communicative and behavioral difficulties that affect the individual’s functional life and immediate context, highlighting the importance of family involvement in interventions with children diagnosed with ASD. Parent-Implemented Intervention (PII) actively involves parents as intervention agents, showing evidence of benefits for their children in several areas, such as social-communicative skills. This study analyzed the effects of PII on the social-communicative skills of children with ASD aged between 3 and 6 years in a school in southern Brazil. Using a multiple-baseline single-subject experimental design, one special education teacher and three families with children with ASD participated. The teacher received training on PII and then guided the parents in developing their children's social-communicative skills at home. The results showed an increase in parents’ mediating behaviors and in the children’s social-communicative skills after the start of the intervention. The implications for inclusive education are discussed in the text.