Secondary prevention, group parent training approach of Family Centred Positive Behaviour Support : a descriptive case study analysis with two families of children with autism spectrum disorder

To support families in addressing behaviours that challenge in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers have documented the impact of secondary prevention, group parent training programs on empowering parents to implement positive parenting strategies. Research has long supported the use of family centered positive behaviour support (FCPBS) as a tertiary approach to supporting families of children with developmental disabilities. Currently, only one study has evaluated the implementation of FCPBS at a secondary prevention level. This study extends the experimental research of Fawcett (2020) who investigated the effects of a FCPBS group parent training program designed for families of young children with Down Syndrome. In this study, a descriptive case study design was conducted to evaluate the association between implementation of the group parent training approach to FCPBS delivered by telepractice to families of children with ASD, and improvements in child behaviour and family functioning. An adapted version of the approach that Fawcett developed was implemented with two families of children with ASD. This version comprised 13 weekly telepractice sessions, conducted for 2-hours, that were designed to teach families 11 universal positive behaviour support strategies. Four direct dependent variables and five indirect dependent variables were measured. Data were collected at preintervention and at the midpoint of intervention, which occurred after the sixth session. Results yielded mixed outcomes across the two families. At the midpoint of intervention, Family 2 showed modest progress across all eight child and parent dependent variables. However, Family 1 showed modest progress on only two of eight child and parent dependent variables, and no change or regression on six of eight child and parent dependent variables. Family 1 rated highly the importance, acceptability and viability of the group parent training approach, while Family 2 rated the approach moderately. These mixed and modest results were associated with several study limitations. Given these findings and limitations, the study contributes modest support to the nascent literature on a secondary prevention approach of FCPBS. Results are further discussed in terms of their relation to the literature, implications, and future research.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat