Improving a Parent Coaching Model of Music Interventions for Young Autistic Children

Abstract Parenting a child on the autism spectrum can be rewarding and enriching, but it may also increase risk of parental fatigue, stress, anxiety, and depression. Parent-mediated interventions contribute to increase family satisfaction and child social communication while helping to decrease parental stress and fatigue. Parent coaching, the education of parents in evidence-based strategies, has become common in the autism field. However, parent coaching in music therapy has only recently emerged and has limited research with families with an autistic member. In this study, we attempted to improve a previously published model of parent coaching, adapting only one aspect of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), the sensory social routine (SSR) to create a music intervention. Four parents participated in this 6-session parent coaching study. We compared the SSR-based intervention with and without music, in an alternating treatment design. Measures included parental responsiveness, child receptive and initiation joint attention, parent–child similar affect and synchronized gaze, and the Parent Coaching-ESDM (PC-ESDM) parent fidelity rating system. Results from these observational measures were mixed, with better parental responses in the no-music condition, but improved child responses and parent–child synchrony in the music condition for 3 out of the 4 participants. Parent learning increased for all participants, and 3 out of the 4 reached fidelity (a score of at least 80%), according to the PC-ESDM. Although mixed results were observed across participants, implications for practice are possible. Better outcome measures of this complex intervention are needed.

Feasibility of Parent Coaching of Music Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Music Therapy Perspectives ◽

10.1093/mtp/miz016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 195-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eugenia Hernandez-Ruiz

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Framework ◽

Joint Attention ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Adherence To Treatment ◽

Parent Coaching ◽

Coaching Model ◽

Verbal Responsiveness

Abstract Parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have elicited emerging interest among music therapists. A conceptual framework (reported elsewhere) delineated the incorporation of music to an established parent coaching model (Parent-Early Start Denver Model [P-ESDM];). The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of adapting the P-ESDM to a music-based parent coaching model. An alternating treatments design with a parent–child dyad was implemented, with music and non-music conditions in each treatment session. Behavioral video analysis of parental verbal and non-verbal responsiveness, child joint attention and verbal behaviors, and parent and therapist adherence to treatment provided quantitative data. A semi-structured follow-up interview with a parent addressed concerns, preferences, and suggestions for improvement. Parental verbal responsiveness seemed lower during the music condition, but non-verbal responsiveness increased notably during the music condition. Parent adherence to treatment was achieved in the sixth session. Child receptive joint attention increased in the music condition only, and initiating joint attention was higher in most sessions during the music condition. Parental comfort with the music did not seem ideal with the brief time allotted to training despite familiarity with the music. Music-based parent coaching to enhance social communication of preschoolers with ASD seems feasible. This study provides initial support to a conceptual framework of parent coaching of music interventions. Further research should investigate other methods to teach the music, alternative session schedules, and more precise measures of parental responsiveness.

Parental Responsiveness During Musical and Non-Musical Engagement in Preschoolers with ASD

10.31234/osf.io/w84pu ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Olivia Boorom ◽

Valerie Muñoz ◽

Rongyu Xin ◽

Meredith Watson ◽

Miriam Lense

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum ◽

Free Play ◽

Verbal Responses ◽

Parental Responsiveness ◽

Musical Play ◽

Child Play ◽

Play Interactions ◽

Musical Engagement ◽

Musical Activities ◽

Parent-child play interactions offer an important avenue for supporting social development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Musical play is a natural and ubiquitous form of parent-child play. As a familiar, reinforcing, and predictable activity, musical play may support parent-child interactions by scaffolding children’s attention to the play activities, while also providing parents with a familiar and accessible context to promote parental responsiveness. However, musical play may also impede interactions due to its sensory and repetitive components. 12 parent-child dyads of preschoolers with ASD were video-recorded during a ten-minute play session that included musical and non-musical toys. Interactions were coded for parent and child musical engagement, as well as parental responsiveness. Parent-child dyads varied in their amount of musical engagement during play, which was not related to children’s language level. Overall, parents showed similar levels of responsiveness to children’s play across musical and non-musical activities, but type of parental responsiveness differed depending on the play context. Parents provided significantly more physical play responses and significantly fewer verbal responses during musical vs. non-musical engagement with their child. There are substantial individual differences in children with ASD’s musical engagement during a parent-child free play. Children’s musical engagement impacted type of parental responsiveness, which may relate to the familiarity, accessibility, and sensory nature of musical play/toys. Results suggest that musical play/toys can both support and hinder different types of parental responsiveness with implications for incorporation of musical activities into interventions.

Train-the-Trainers: A Parent-Coaching Model for Increasing Food Acceptance in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

American Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.5014/ajot.2016.70s1-po5127 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 70 (4_Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 7011515274p1

Author(s):

Joanna Cosbey ◽

Deirdre Muldoon ◽

Susan Shelly ◽

Kelly Ledingham

Keyword(s):

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Parent Coaching ◽

Food Acceptance ◽

Coaching Model

Explanatory Model of the Parent-Child Attachment Relationship in Autism: The Influence of Siblings and Parental Stress

10.33921/yxzy3851 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Author(s):

Lyanne Levasseur Faucher ◽

Estellane St-Jean

Keyword(s):

Attachment Style ◽

Parental Stress ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Explanatory Model ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Insecure Attachment ◽

Attachment Figure ◽

Child Attachment ◽

The first bond formed between a child and his parent, generally his main attachment figure, remains essential for the development of the child’s autonomy. While around 1% of the world’s population is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Fédération québécoise de l’autisme, 2019), some factors are said to negatively influence the development of the attachment between children with ASD and their parents, explaining why they seem more likely to develop an insecure attachment style (Oppenheim et al., 2012). An explanatory model has been proposed by Lapointe (2017), which suggests that certain factors, such as social communication deficits, associated disorders, and parental stress, could have a moderating effect on the relation between the quality of the attachment and the autistic symptoms. The following article proposes an enhancement of this theoretical model by considering a possible bidirectional link between siblings and parental stress. Keywords: parent-child attachment, insecure attachment style, autism spectrum disorder, parental stress in autism spectrum disorder, siblings of autistic children

The thorn in the dyad: A vision on parent-child relationship in autism spectrum disorder

Europe’s Journal of Psychology ◽

10.5964/ejop.v14i3.1453 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 695-709 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Teresa Del Bianco ◽

Yagmur Ozturk ◽

Ilaria Basadonne ◽

Noemi Mazzoni ◽

Paola Venuti

Keyword(s):

Parental Stress ◽

Well Being ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Parent Child Relationship ◽

Communication Impairment ◽

Child Relationship ◽

Parents And Children ◽

Parents and children form a family: their characteristics balance personal and family well-being with healthy levels of stress. Research on parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrated that higher levels of parental stress are associated with communication impairment, a core symptom of ASD. The aim of this article is to discuss the connection between non-verbal communication impairment and parental psychological distress, in families with children with ASD. The interaction between atypical communication and distress of parents likely determines a cascade effect on the parent-child dyad; in fact, it decreases the quality and frequency of interactions, preventing the establishment of a healthy parent-child relationship and leading to a series of collateral problems. To this perspective, guiding the parents to reframe their children’s atypical communicative behaviour can relieve parental stress and re-program the interactional routine. This observation stresses the importance of interventions centred on the dyad, especially during early development and soon after the diagnosis, when the communicative impairment may be extremely severe.

Parental Stress and Relational Quality in the Parent--Child Dyad

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e622292009-001 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Karen Weiss ◽

K. Mark Sossin

Keyword(s):

Parental Stress ◽

Relational Quality ◽

Parent Coaching via Telepractice for Children From Latinx Backgrounds With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Special Education Technology ◽

10.1177/01626434211033604 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 016264342110336

Author(s):

Valeria A. Yllades ◽

J. B. Ganz ◽

Sanikan Wattanawongwan ◽

Claudia Dunn ◽

Lauren M. Pierson

Keyword(s):

Culturally Responsive ◽

Single Case ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Language Instruction ◽

Multimodal Communication ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Communication Intervention ◽

Probe Design ◽

Parent Coaching

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder from bilingual homes have to learn and discriminate which language to use across settings and different people. Language instruction is complicated by the core deficits in social communication, which is common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Using a single case, multiple probe design across three parent-child dyads between 3 and 6 years from Spanish speaking backgrounds, the present study examined the effect of telepractice-based parent coaching in a multimodal communication intervention. Culturally responsive approaches were integrated within the coaching model, including targeted interview questions. There was also a 15-item rubric used for identifying criteria for culturally responsive research. Findings indicate that the use of multimodal communication intervention via telepractice parent coaching showed promising results. We can conclude that this approach can be a beneficial tool to help family members improve communication for bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder.