Cross‐site randomized control trial of the Social ABCs caregiver‐mediated intervention for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder

To evaluate the efficacy of the Social ABCs parent‐mediated intervention for toddlers with suspected or confirmed autism spectrum disorder (ASD), through a cross‐site randomized control trial, sixty‐three parent–toddler dyads (toddler age: 16–30 months) were randomized into treatment ( Social ABCs ) or control (service‐as‐usual) conditions. Video data were obtained at three key time‐points: Baseline; Post‐training (PT; week 12); and Follow‐Up (week 24). Analyses included 62 dyads. Treatment allocation significantly accounted for PT gains, all favouring the Treatment group, in (1) child functional vocal responsiveness to parent prompts ( R 2 = 0.43, P < .001), (2) child vocal initiations ( R 2 = 0.28, P < .001), (3) parent smiling ( R 2 = 0.09, P = .017), and (4) fidelity of implementation ( R 2 = 0.71, P < .001). A trend was observed for increased social orienting ( R 2 = 0.06, P = 0.054); gains in parent smiling significantly predicted increases in child smiling and social orienting. Parents in the treatment condition reported significant gains in self‐efficacy following the intervention ( P = 0.009). No differential effects emerged for performance on standardized measures. The Social ABCs is a relatively low‐resource, efficacious intervention, with potential to be a cost‐effective means of intervening at the first signs of possible ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1700–1711 .