Caregiver Involvement in Communication Skills for Individuals With ASD and IDD: A Meta-Analytic Review of Single-Case Research on the English, Chinese, and Japanese Literature

Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Liao, C. Y., Ganz, J. B., et al. (2021).

Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 8(3), 350-365.

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the impact of care partner involvements (e.g., care partner training, care partner-implemented interventions, care partner-mediated programs) on communication skills for individuals on the autism spectrum and individuals with intellectual/developmental disability (IDD). This review also investigates the impact of child age and service delivery (e.g., setting, format, dosage) on treatment effects. Of note, all included studies incorporate clinician support.

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Single-case experimental studies

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Care partner involvement had a moderate effect (Tau-U = 0.74) on communication skills (e.g., joint attention, social orienting, augmentative and alternative communication device usage) of children on the autism spectrum and children with IDD. Subgroup analysis revealed the following:<br /> <ul> <li>Treatment dosage had a moderate effect on communication outcomes (Tau-U = 0.63). Dosages of 10+ sessions resulted in worse effects (Tau-U = 0.553) than dosages of 1-3 sessions (Tau-U = 0.72), 4-6 sessions (Tau-U = 0.74), and 7-9 sessions (Tau-U = 0.76).&nbsp;</li> <li>There was no difference in treatment effects based on child age. There were moderate treatment effects for children aged 7 and older (Tau-U = 0.69), children aged 4 to 6 (Tau-U = 0.64), and children aged 1 to 3 (Tau-U = 0.63).</li> <li>There was no difference in treatment effects based on setting. There were moderate treatment effects for services delivered at home (Tau-U = 0.67), in clinic/hospital/center settings (Tau-U = 0.57), and in multiple settings (Tau-U = 0.58).</li> <li>There was no difference in treatment effects based on service format. There were moderate treatment effects for services delivered via telepractice (Tau-U = 0.71) and in-person (Tau-U = 0.60).&nbsp;</li> </ul> Limitations to this review include reduced quality of included studies, a lack of reporting of care partner characteristics, differences in types of care partner involvement between studies, and an overall lack of evidence for adolescent and adult populations. Future research should include participants with variable ages and cultural backgrounds.