TheAutism purpose of this review is to provide an overview of findings from selected research published between 2012 and 2022 in English-language peer-reviewed journals to evaluate the effectiveness of the parent-implemented Early Start Denver Model (P-ESDM). Thirteen studies used quantitative methods to examine the spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause difficulties in communication and social interaction. Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) have been tested by clinical trials of behavioral treatments. NDBIs integrate developmental and relationship between variables. We considered four categories of variables-based approaches with applied behavioral analysis (ABA) strategies and are implemented in the analysis: child characteristics, intervention intensitchild’s day-to-day environment, including in play and duration, child outcome measures, and parent-related outcome measures and parental fidelity. The findings revealed positive child–parent-related outcomeroutine activities where many learning opportunities can be embedded. Among evidence-based practices, the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is a representative approach to NDBIs. In addition, the quality of implementation, relating to parent fidelity, should be considered when evaluating the efficacy of the intervention. However, only half the studies revealed that the standard benchmark for acceptable fidelity was being achieved. Implications for future research and practice are discussESDM follows comprehensive NDBI principles, grounded in developmental and behavioral science and neuroscientific evidenced.
1. Introduction
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause difficulties in communication and social interaction. Children with ASD may maintain the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviors
[1]. Furthermore, evidence suggests that reliable diagnosis of children with ASD can be made before the age of 2 years
[2]. An emphasis on very early intervention in several reviews suggests the importance of effective early intervention which may relate to greater possibility of children’s learning and progress
[3]. Accordingly, early intervention is key and leads to better outcomes in shaping the child’s developing brain and is especially crucial for young children with social and developmental disabilities
[4,5][4][5].
Early intervention research for ASD has increased dramatically in the past decade. Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) have been tested by clinical trials of behavioral treatments
[5,6,7,8,9][5][6][7][8][9]. NDBIs integrate developmental and relationship-based approaches with applied behavioral analysis (ABA) strategies and are implemented in the child’s day-to-day environment, including in play and routine activities where many learning opportunities can be embedded
[10,11,12][10][11][12]. In many interventions, natural reinforcement strategies are used which focus on the child’s choices and rewards closely related to the learning activities
[13].
Among evidence-based practices, the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is a representative approach to NDBIs. In addition, ESDM follows comprehensive NDBI principles, grounded in developmental and behavioral science
[14,15][14][15] and neuroscientific evidence
[16]. Based on ABA and developmental psychology, ESDM is a comprehensive early intervention that aims to reduce the severity of ASD symptom and emphasize in the development of cognitive, social, emotional, and language abilities
[4,17,18][4][17][18]. The model was designed for use with children aged 18–48 months and features a manualized curriculum divided into four levels
[19], each of which targets different developmental areas. Moreover, by emphasizing natural environments and positive relationships to promote children’s learning outcomes, ESDM acknowledges that parents are best placed to implement early interventions in the home setting
[3,18,20,21][3][18][20][21].
Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s
[22] ecological systems theory, the theoretical framework indicates that multiple levels of the child’s environment influence child development. The microsystem is the smallest system in which relationships between the child and parent are constructed
[23]. Parents play a crucial role in the early interventions provided to young children with disabilities, helping foster the child’s growth and development
[24]. Parenting a child with autism can be rewarding but also challenging
[25,26,27][25][26][27]. Furthermore, research underscored that parents of children with ASD consistently reported lower levels of parenting-related anxiety, stress, or depression
[5,28][5][28]. Indeed, many studies on NDBIs have focused on evaluating the effects of early intervention when delivered by parents. Recent studies have demonstrated that ESDM intervention strategies can be implemented by parents to maximize learning opportunities in daily activities and bridge service gaps; this intervention is known as parent-implemented ESDM (P-ESDM)
[15,28][15][28]. Several studies have revealed that (a) parents can learn to implement the intervention techniques with fidelity and (b) doing so results in a range of improvements in child outcomes
[7,8,14,29,30][7][8][14][29][30]. Thus, research recommended that parents can plausibly incorporate naturalistic techniques into daily routines in order to accelerate the maintenance and generalizability of treatment gains
[31,32][31][32].
P-ESDM is an evidence-based structured approach that teaches parents ESDM techniques such as gaining the child’s attention and motivating them, promoting dyadic engagement and joint activity routines, enhancing verbal and nonverbal communication, and incorporating play skills
[26]. To determine whether improvements in the child’s development result from corresponding changes in the techniques of parent’s interaction, one must take parent’s use of the intervention strategies into account
[33]. Treatment fidelity is defined as “the methodological strategies used to monitor and enhance the reliability and validity of behavioural interventions”
[34] (p. 139). The treatment fidelity is considered acceptable for an adherence of 80% or more
[35]. However, the role of treatment fidelity relates to child intervention response needs further investigation
[36]. Thus, measuring treatment fidelity is crucial for clarifying this relationship.
2. RParent-Implemented Early Start Denver Model for Childresultn with Autism Spectrum Disorder
ESDM is an evidence-based intervention integrating ABA principles
[39][37]. To address the need for an evidence base that includes research methods evaluating effectiveness,
wresearche
rs included interventional studies in this
reviewentry. All 13 research articles in this
studentry reported using a quantitative research design, including three that used a multiple-baseline across subjects design
[5,40,41][5][38][39] and one that adopted a single-case nonconcurrent alternating-treatment design
[42][40]. Of the group studies, one was a nonrandomized controlled trial
[12], four were randomized controlled trials
[15[15][28][41][42],
28,43,44], and three used a quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design
[3,16,17][3][16][17].
Table 1 provide a summary of each study’s (a) child characteristics, (b) intervention intensity and duration, (c) child outcome measures, and (d) parent-related outcome measures and results on parent fidelity.
Table 1. Summary of child characteristics, type of study design, outcome measures, and results of parent fidelity of the included studies.
Study |
Title 2 |
Study Design |
Intervention Intensity and Duration |
Outcome Measures |
Parent
Fidelity
(Pretest→Posttest) |
N |
Age
(MOS) |
Diagnosis |
Child |
Parent |
Abouzeid et al. (2020) [17] |
10 |
18–45 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Quasi-experimental
one-group pretest–posttest |
3 h/wk for 13 wk |
No information |
|
53% → 61% |
Estes et al. (2014) [28] |
49 (int.)
49 (TAU) |
12–24 |
At risk of ASD |
Randomized controlled trial |
1 h/wk for 12 wk |
No information |
|
No scores but were analyzed using videotape |
Hernandez-Ruiz (2018) [18] |
3 |
30–36 |
At risk/clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Quasi-experimental
one-group pretest–posttest |
0.5 h/wk for 10 wk |
No information |
-
Two of the mothers seemed to feel more competent
-
Parent’s perception of their child’s social skills modified
-
Decreasing from moderate distress to no distress
-
The intervention was culturally and developmentally appropriate, enjoyable, and promoted interaction
|
No information |
Hernandez-Ruiz (2020) [42][40] |
1 |
48 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Single-case, nonconcurrent alternating-treatment design |
1 h/wk for 12 wk |
Improvement in nonverbal responsiveness and initiation of joint attention |
Parents seemed capable and found value in learning strategies from professionals that they could implement at home. |
52–58% → 80% (linear) |
Malucelli et al. (2021) [45][43] |
9 (int.)
9 (TAU) |
29–42 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Randomized controlled trial |
2 h/wk for 12 wk |
Learning rate in different areas (except imitation) showed significant differences between two groups |
Descriptive information was provided by the researchers regarding the high agreement of observation in 10-min videos of parent-child interaction |
No information |
Rogers et al. (2012) [15] |
49 (int.)
49 (TAU) |
12–24 |
At risk of ASD |
Randomized controlled trial |
1 h/wk for 12 wk |
Improvement in both groups; no significant differences related to group assignment were noted |
-
P-ESDM group did not exhibit significantly higher P-ESDM fidelity scores than the community treatment group.
-
Parents receiving ESDM coaching exhibited stronger working relationships with their primary therapist than parents receiving community intervention
|
P-ESDM group had large effect size (0.57) compared with the community intervention group’s moderate effect size (0.37) |
Rogers et al. (2019) [43][41] |
45 |
12–30 |
At risk/clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Randomized controlled trial |
1.5 h/wk for 12 wk |
Significant developmental acceleration; child outcomes did not differ by group |
-
P-ESDM++ group exhibited significantly increased sensitivity and skill compared with the parents in the P-ESDM group
-
Parents in the enhanced group exhibited significantly greater improvement in interaction skills than parents in the control group
-
Parents were extremely satisfied with the intervention
|
3.4 → 3.8
(maximum of 5.0) |
Vismara et al. (2012) [40][38] |
9 |
16–38 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Single-subject multiple-baseline design |
1 h/wk for 12 wk |
Children’s social-communicative behaviors increased significantly, as indicated by three independent data sources |
-
Parental responsivity, affect, and achievement-oriented behaviors increased during intervention
-
Parents gave positive ratings on a feasibility and acceptability questionnaire
|
2.62 → 4.29
(maximum of 5.0) |
Vismara et al. (2013) [41][39] |
8 |
18–45 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Single-subject multiple- baseline design |
1.5 h/wk for 12 wk |
Use of functional verbal utterances, joint attention initiations(eye gaze alternation, i.e., giving, showing, or pointing), and receptive and expressive language increased during intervention and follow-up |
|
6 of 8 parents achieved fidelity (80%) on the ESDM fidelity scale during intervention and 7 of 8 parents during follow-up. |
Vismara et al. (2016) [44][42] |
14 (int.)
10 (TAU) |
18–48 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Randomized controlled trial |
1.5 h/wk for 12 wk |
No treatment effect for children’s social communication behaviors |
-
Posttreatment, 36% of parents in the P-ESDM group compared with 20% of parents in the community-treated group achieved fidelity
-
Parents in the P-ESDM group used the website more often and with higher satisfaction
|
0% → 36% of P-ESDM parents achieved fidelity |
Vismara et al. (2019) [5] |
4 |
18–48 |
fragile X syndrome |
Single-subject
multiple-baseline |
1.5 h/wk for 12 wk |
Standardized composite scores increased for all but one child |
-
Parent fidelity increased
-
Three out of four parents rated the intervention and coaching experience positively
-
Parents also reported improvement of children’s understanding and usage of communicative gestures and words
|
below 4.00 → above 4.00
(maximum of 5.0) |
Waddington et al. (2020b) [3] |
5 |
23–59 |
At risk/clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Quasi-experimental
one-group pretest–posttest |
1 h/wk for 12 wk |
All mothers mentioned improvements in spoken and/or nonverbal communication |
-
All five mothers gave the intervention positive ratings through the Treatment Acceptability Rating Scale-Revised.
-
Four mothers commented on the positive personal qualities and knowledge of the trainer.
|
No information (only reported four of the mothers improved) |
Zhou et al. (2018) [12] |
23 (int.)
20 (TAU) |
18–30 |
Clinical diagnosis of ASD |
Nonrandomized controlled trial |
1.5 h/wk for 26 wk |
Neither group exhibited significant change in ASD severity, but the P-ESDM group exhibited greater improvement in social affect |
Parents in the P-ESDM group experienced decreased parenting stress, but those in the community intervention group exhibited an opposite trend. |
No information |