Program Features That Support Online Learning for Parents of Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Secondary Analysis of Feasibility Trial Data

Abstract

Date Presented 4/20/2018

This study explored the features of an online program that were effective for parents of children with autism without an intellectual disability. The findings offer preliminary support that e-learning helps parents understand strategies that are important to them because they can improve daily life.

Primary Author and Speaker: Katie Alexander

Additional Authors and Speakers: Winnie Dunn

Contributing Authors: Melissa DeRosier, Debra Childress, Lauren Kenworthy, Laura Anthony, Lynn Cannon, Monica Adler Werner

PURPOSE: Parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often described as complex and stressful (Hayes & Watson, 2013), and the demands parents face require significant time and financial resources. However, parenting a child with ASD can also generate positive meaning, stronger families, and resilience (Bayat, 2007). In addition, parents are effective in using professional guidance to implement supports and interventions that improve outcomes for their child with ASD.

The literature highlights the importance and value of parent-focused, low-cost, and accessible interventions that improve outcomes for parents and their children. Online tools could meet these requirements, but there is a paucity of currently available, evidence-based programs. To address this gap, an ongoing study aims to develop and test e-Unstuck, an e-learning intervention based on Unstuck and On Target (UOT; Kenworthy et al., 2014), a research-validated program developed for children with ASD without an intellectual disability (ID). The data from the e-Unstuck Phase I feasibility trial provide an opportunity to explore what features of an online program are effective for parents of children with ASD without an ID. Understanding how to support e-learning for parents is important for occupational therapy practitioners, who are well positioned to contribute to the development of interventions that improve outcomes for children with ASD and their parents.

METHOD: To explore what elements of e-Unstuck are effective for parents of children with ASD, we conducted a cross-sectional, exploratory secondary analysis. We used deidentified data from 22 parents included in a convenience sample recruited through local and online strategies for Phase I of the trial.

An online survey from the original trial was the source of deidentified data for the current study. The survey included 68 items divided into 45 quantitative and 18 qualitative questions. Together, these items prompted participant feedback on their experiences with and perspectives on all aspects of the UOT e-prototype, including the quality, relevance, and value of content; graphics and animations; the video narrator; interactives and exercises; and the executive function report. To analyze these data, we used convergent parallel mixed methods, a mixed methods strategy that separately analyzes both quantitative and qualitative data and then compares those analyses for divergence and convergence to integrate findings.

RESULTS: Parents reported that e-Unstuck offered an effective, easy to use, and high-quality e-learning experience. The findings of this study offer preliminary indications that the e-learning features that are effective for parents of children with ASD without ID include the following: congruence between content and presentation; relatable performances; seeing how to apply strategies in daily life; engaging, differentiated content delivery; individualization; high-quality user interface; authentic representation of the child’s and parent’s daily life; and a high number and variety of examples. In addition, parents expressed a desire to use what they learned to understand their child more deeply, advocate more effectively, and use strategies that improve their daily life.

CONCLUSION: These findings are particularly important for occupational therapy practitioners, who can help intervention development teams create programs that are richly connected to and support improvements in daily life.

References

Bayat, M. (2007). Evidence of resilience in families of children with autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 51(Part 9), 702–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.00960.x

Hayes, S. A., & Watson, S. L. (2013). The impact of parenting stress: A meta-analysis of studies comparing the experience of parenting stress in parents of children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 629–642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1604-y

Kenworthy, L., Anthony, L. G., Naiman, D. Q., Cannon, L., Wills, M. C., Luong-Tran, C., . . . Wallace, G. L. (2014). Randomized controlled effectiveness trial of executive function intervention for children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 55, 374–383. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12161