Parent-Child Interactions During a Teaching Task in Children with ASD

Background: Research shows that parents of children with ASD demonstrate a different interaction style compared to parents of typically developing (TD) children (Kasari & Sigman, 1997). This includes an increase in physical proximity (Kasari et al., 1988; Lemanek et al., 1993) and a display of more directive strategies during interaction episodes (e.g. Meirsschaut et al., 2011). The majority of this research emphasizes parent-child interactions during unstructured free play. Little is known, however, about differences in parental behaviors during teaching tasks. Comparing parents of children with ASD to parents of children with TD on a teaching interaction allows us to observe how parental behaviors may affect a child’s ability to learn. Identifying the parental behaviors during learning episodes that are associated with better regulation of attention and emotion in children with ASD can help shape early-childhood interventions.

Objectives: Using a teaching task with groups of children with ASD and typical development, we will examine the relation between parent and child behavior during both baseline and teaching segments, and identify teaching strategies that correlate with improved attention and emotion regulation in children with ASD.

Methods: Participants in both groups are evaluated with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (Mullen, 1995) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Lord, et al., 1999). The teaching task is a highly structured parent-child interaction activity that is divided into three segments. First, the child works on an easy (as determined by the caregiver) puzzle for 2 to 3 minutes with the parent providing a supportive environment but not teaching (Baseline). Second, the parent teaches the child how to complete a hard puzzle for 5 minutes (Teaching). Third, the child works on another hard puzzle on their own for 2 to 3 minutes, once again without the parent’s guidance (Application). Each segment of the teaching task is coded from videotape using a scheme derived from a combination of the NCAST Teaching Scale (Barnard et al., 1994) and the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (Eyberg et al., 2009). The overall coding scheme is divided into six subsections: sensitivity to cues, response to child's distress, social-emotional growth fostering, cognitive growth fostering, clarity of cues and responsiveness to caregiver. Using a 0-3 Likert scale rating system allows us to examine the relation between parent and child behaviors in both groups.

Results: Preliminary data suggest that aspects of parental behavior, specifically positive physical affection and changing facial expressions, affects their child's ability to regulate their emotions and attention during the teaching task. Data collection is ongoing.

Conclusions: By identifying strategies that promote self-regulation during learning episodes, the results of this study can suggest models for parental teaching that can be incorporated into early childhood interventions.