Applicability of the BEAR-Training for Young Children at Risk of Autism: Conditional Effects of Parental Well Being and Parental Traits of Autism
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2021-07
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en
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Abstract
Previous studies have indicated the importance of early recognition and intervention in
children at risk of autism and the key role of parents in these processes. The aim of this
explorative study was to investigate whether the quality of interaction skills of caregivers with
their child at risk of autism would improve after following the early parent-mediatedBEAR training. Additionally, the influence of parental traits of autism and parental well-being on the
ability to apply the learned strategies was investigated. Fifteen children between 12 and 30
months old and their caregiver were filmed at baseline and after the 7-week training during a
caregiver-child play session. Trained observers blind-rated parental interaction skills of these
videos. Additionally, parents filled in questionnaires at baseline to measure parental well being and parental traits of autism. Results showed no intervention effect on parental
interaction skills. Also, no effect of parental traits of autism and parental well-being was
found. However, medium and large effect sizes were found on Following in on child’s focus
(parental interaction skill), parental traits of autism and well-being. These results suggest that
the sample size was too small to find a significant effect and that the BEAR-training might
possibly have the potential to improve parental interaction skills. We highlight the importance
of including parental moderators and outcome measures in evaluating the effectiveness of
parent-mediated interventions for children with (a risk of) autism.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, high risk infants, early intervention, parent mediated intervention, parent-child interaction
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen