Treino de pais online baseado no modelo Denver de intervenção precoce para ensino de habilidades básicas de comunicação para crianças pequenas com TEA

Abstract

Parent Training (PT) is characterized by the instruction of intervention strategies for caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by a specialized professional. This study focused on the training and involvement of caregivers in the intervention for children with autism, a strategy supported by studies attesting that parental training is effective in enhancing skills of family members, reducing their stress levels, and improving communication and socialization skills of children. The research aimed to assess the integrity of a parent training (PT) program adapted from the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) and the "Parent-Implemented Early Start Denver Model” (P-ESDM) delivered in an online format to teach precursor communication skills (responding when called by name, using pointing to make requests, engaging in joint attention, and imitating simple gestures with objects.) to young children (up to 36 months) diagnosed with ASD. Two participants, along with their children, were selected, and the study included an initial assessment of the children's repertoire and measures of parental stress and self-efficacy. The training addressed Naturalistic Teaching Strategies (NTS) for teaching children with ASD, with subsequent assessments to measure the fidelity of implementation of the strategies by mothers and the impact on children. As a result, there was an increase in fidelity of application after training, although a statistically relevant variation in self-efficacy and parental stress levels was not found. Child performance results suggested an increase in the occurrence of the four target behaviors in the final assessment. The high integrity of application by a non-certified person opens up the possibility of expanding P-ESDM on a larger scale, such as primary care applications. However, regarding the mothers' retention of content repertoire, records with operational measures allowing a contingent analysis of the relationship between training implementation and child behavior need to be conducted. Overall, the training analyzed in the study can be a viable tool for teaching precursor communication skills in children with ASD, contributing to the mitigation of barriers to access intervention services in Brazil.