Parent training has been shown to be a very effective method for promoting generalization and maintenance of skills in children with autism. However, despite its wellestablished benefits, few public school programs include parent training as part of the early childhood special education (ECSE) curriculum. Barriers to the provision of parent training include the need for parent education models that can be easily implemented in ECSE programs and the need for preparation of special educators in parent education strategies. This article describes a parent training model for children with autism developed for use in ECSE programs. The implementation of the program, teacher preparation, and preliminary outcomes and challenges will be discussed. Brooke Ingersoll Lewis & Clark College Hearing & Speech Institute Anna DvortcsakHearing & Speech Institute 79The importance of training parents as intervention providers for their child with autism was first emphasized by Lovaas and colleagues when they noted that, following intensive treatment, children whose parents were trained to carry on the intervention continued to make gains, whereas children who were returned to an institutional setting lost their previously acquired skills (Lovaas, Koegel, Simmons, & Long, 1973). Since then, parents of children with autism have been successfully taught a variety of intervention techniques to improve the parent-child relationship (e.g., Koegel, Bimbela, & Schreibman, 1996, Mahoney & Perales, 2003, increase communication skills (e.g., Harris, 1986), and decrease inappropriate behavior (e.g., Marcus, Lansing, Andrews, & Schopler, 1978). Teaching parents to provide the intervention has been shown to increase generalization and maintenance of skills over time (e.g., Koegel, Schreibman, Britten, Burke, & O'Neill, 1982). Parent training also improves the quality of life for the family by reducing parental stress and increasing parental leisure and recreation time (Koegel et al., 1982). In addition, parents who participate in parent training programs report more optimism about their ability to influence their child's development (Koegel et al., 1982), which may help parents sustain their efforts with their child over time.Even though parent training is now considered an essential component of successful intervention programs for children with autism (National Research Council, 2001), it is rarely included in publicly funded early childhood special education (ECSE) programs (Mahoney et al., 1999;McCollum, 1999). Obstacles to providing parent training mainly relate to issues of dissemination and training. Most evidence-based parent training models are not accessible to teachers, who may not read empirical journals that do not target practitioners. In addition, teachers are rarely trained in how to use parent education strategies. Most special educators, especially those who work with children ages 3 and older, have been trained to work with children, not adults. They lack the knowledge of how adults learn and the techniques for teac...

Developmental, social—pragmatic (DSP) interventions are based on the study of interactions betWeen typically developing infants and their mothers. Despite the fact that DSP approaches are firmly grounded in developmental theory, there is limited research on the efficacy of these interventions for promoting social-communicative behavior in young children With autism. This study used a single-subject, multiple-baseline design to examine the effectiveness of a DSP language intervention on three children With autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Results indicate the children exhibited increases in their use of spontaneous speech With the therapist as Well as With their parents, Who had not been trained in the intervention. These findings provide preliminary support for the effectiveness of language therapy using a developmental, social—pragmatic approach With young children With ASD.

Parent training has been shown to be a very effective method for promoting generalization and maintenance of skills in children with autism. However, despite its wellestablished benefits, few public school programs include parent training as part of the early childhood special education (ECSE) curriculum. Barriers to the provision of parent training include the need for parent education models that can be easily implemented in ECSE programs and the need for preparation of special educators in parent education strategies. This article describes a parent training model for children with autism developed for use in ECSE programs. The implementation of the program, teacher preparation, and preliminary outcomes and challenges will be discussed. Brooke Ingersoll Lewis & Clark College Hearing & Speech Institute Anna DvortcsakHearing & Speech Institute 79The importance of training parents as intervention providers for their child with autism was first emphasized by Lovaas and colleagues when they noted that, following intensive treatment, children whose parents were trained to carry on the intervention continued to make gains, whereas children who were returned to an institutional setting lost their previously acquired skills (Lovaas, Koegel, Simmons, & Long, 1973). Since then, parents of children with autism have been successfully taught a variety of intervention techniques to improve the parent-child relationship (e.g., Koegel, Bimbela, & Schreibman, 1996, Mahoney & Perales, 2003, increase communication skills (e.g., Harris, 1986), and decrease inappropriate behavior (e.g., Marcus, Lansing, Andrews, & Schopler, 1978). Teaching parents to provide the intervention has been shown to increase generalization and maintenance of skills over time (e.g., Koegel, Schreibman, Britten, Burke, & O'Neill, 1982). Parent training also improves the quality of life for the family by reducing parental stress and increasing parental leisure and recreation time (Koegel et al., 1982). In addition, parents who participate in parent training programs report more optimism about their ability to influence their child's development (Koegel et al., 1982), which may help parents sustain their efforts with their child over time.Even though parent training is now considered an essential component of successful intervention programs for children with autism (National Research Council, 2001), it is rarely included in publicly funded early childhood special education (ECSE) programs (Mahoney et al., 1999;McCollum, 1999). Obstacles to providing parent training mainly relate to issues of dissemination and training. Most evidence-based parent training models are not accessible to teachers, who may not read empirical journals that do not target practitioners. In addition, teachers are rarely trained in how to use parent education strategies. Most special educators, especially those who work with children ages 3 and older, have been trained to work with children, not adults. They lack the knowledge of how adults learn and the techniques for teac...

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