The Effectiveness of Parent Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses
BMC Psychiatry
Deb, S. S., Retzer, A., et al. (2020).
BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 583.
This meta-analysis investigates the comparative effectiveness of various parent training interventions in children on the autism spectrum.
Not stated
Database inception up to November 1, 2017 and updated March 1, 2020
Randomized controlled trials
15 studies in 17 papers
Reported interventions with two or more studies were included for a meta-analysis. The following parent training interventions demonstrated small to moderate significant treatment effects (standardized mean difference [SMD]) compared to the control group:
<ul>
<li>parent focused training (SMD = 0.38);</li>
<li>Pivotal Response Treatment (SMD = 0.73);</li>
<li>Development, Individual Difference, Relationship-based (DIR)/Floortime (SMD = 0.98).</li>
</ul>
Although promising, the authors indicated a difficulty in drawing definitive conclusions on the effectiveness of any intervention due to the wide variation in methodology.
