Parental Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
A Review of Curriculum
Rudi Susilana and H. Herlina
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, parental intervention, ASD intervention curriculum.
Abstract: Abstract. The parental involvement in the intervention against ASD child plays an important role for the
effectiveness of the intervention program. An intervention program is not possibly apart from the curriculum.
The curriculum development of intervention program for children with ASD needs to refer to the description
of the curriculum of the intervention programs involving parents, which have proven effective in overcoming
barriers to children with ASD. This article is intended to provide an overview of the curriculum of the various
programs of effective interventions for children with ASD that involve parents. The curriculum is studied by
the component objectives, materials, methods, evaluation, and program effectiveness. The study was
conducted through a review of six articles on ASD interventions involving parents, which are published in
the open access journal in 2014-2016. The articles were selected using key words: ASD intervention, ASD
intervention curriculum and parental involvement in the intervention. The results showed that the effective
ASD intervention program curriculum is specifically and flexibly developed in accordance with the conditions
of children, involving parents in curriculum development and implementation of interventions. The
implication is that to be effectively intervene their ASD children, parents need to be given the understanding
and skills through problem-based learning according to individual needs of children with ASD.
1 INTRODUCTION
As a severe developmental disorder, people with
Autism Spectrum Disorder require intensive
treatment and in the long term, so the treatment
becomes costly (Wang, et al., 2013). As a result, two-
thirds of people with ASD in South Korea do not get
special treatment (Kim, 2011), and more than 20% of
children with ASD in 18 European countries did not
obtain intervention (Salomone, et al., 2015). The
involvement of families, especially parents, to be an
alternative solution and is important for the
effectiveness of interventions to children with ASD
(Karst and Van Hecke, 2012; Shie and Wa ng, 2007;
Xu and Filler, 2008). Involving parents in dealing
with children will also make the treatment effective
and low cost (Rudy, 2013). Either directly or
indirectly, parental involvement affect the
effectiveness of interventions for parents to have the
following aspects: 1) being the most knowledgeable
about the child, so that it can provide distinctive
insight and has a key role in interventions for children
(Dept of Health NYS, 2002; Dept for Education UK,
2011; Elder, 2013; Moroz, 2015); 2) more
opportunities to interact with the child, so the amount
of time for intervention is more (Gupta and Singhal,
2005; Steiner et al., 2012; Elder, 2013; Aziz, 2015;
Moroz, 2015); 3) The same cultural background with
children to facilitate the success of the intervention
(NYS Dept of Health, 2002); 4) the opportunity to
generalize the results of interventions in the natural
setting compared with the therapist (Steiner et al.,
2012; Elder, 2013); 5) the typical love and concern to
the child (Dept for Education UK, 2011; Rudy, 2013);
6) the enthusiasm and confidence in dealing with
children with autism (Kasari et al., 2010), and 7)
fortitude in facing the child (Moroz, 2015).
Various research shows the benefits of
empowering parents / families in the intervention of
autism, among other things: 1) parent training as an
actor intervention to bring the better prognosis and
quality of long-term life (Elder, 2013; de Bruin et al.,
2015), 2) parents are empowered to demonstrate
proficiency in implementing new strategies learned
(Beaudoin, Sébire, and Couture, 2014), 3) the parent
is able to manage the events of life effectively, solve
problems, and make decisions (Shie and Wang,
524
Susilana, R. and Herlina, H.
Parental Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Review of Curriculum.
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES 2017) - Volume 2, pages 524-529
ISBN: 978-989-758-314-8
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

2007), and 4 ) reduce stress on parents (McConachie
and Diggle, 2007).
Therefore, to be able to intervene effectively in
overcoming the barriers of children with ASD and
beneficial to the welfare of the parents, it is necessary
to know how the picture curriculum of ASD
intervention programs that involve parents and which
is effective for children.
2 METHOD
To obtain an overview of ASD intervention program
curriculum that involves parents, a review of articles
published in 2014-2016 was conducted, with the
following criteria: a) a primary report of the results of
research on intervention of children with autism
spectrum disorder that involves parents, and b)
contains an overview intervention program as a whole
so that the intervention program curriculum structure
can be analyzed. The articles were taken from the
Open Access Articles on Wiley Online Library,
JAMA Network, Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorder SAGE Journal, using the
keywords: ASD intervention, ASD intervention
curriculum and parental involvement in the
intervention.
Based on these criteria, six articles to be analyzed
were obtained, the article results of research on the
effectiveness of intervention programs Jasp and EMT
(involving the participants of 61 parents and 61
children with ASD), Son-Rise (49 parents and 49
children), Impact Online (28 parents) , Parent
Training and Parent Education (180 parents and 180
children), Social ABCs (20 parents and 20 children),
and PEBM and PEAC (105 parents and 107 children).
Review the components of the intervention
program curriculum are: 1) objectives, 2) material, 3)
methods, 4) evaluation, and 5) the effectiveness of
intervention programs.
3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
In line with the Review purpose of this article,
curriculum or program targeted intervention as
perpetrators are parents of children with ASD
intervention and as a subject that is subjected to
intervention (intervention receiver). Analysis of the
curriculum is focused on four main components,
namely: objectives, materials (content), strategies /
methods, and evaluation) and the effectiveness of
intervention programs to children with ASD that
involves parents can be seen in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Analysis of Curriculum Structure and Effectiveness of Intervention Program.
Title of Article Purpose of
Pro
g
ram
Material Method Evaluation Effectivity
Shire, S.Y., et al.
(2015). Parent's
adoption of social
communication
intervention
strategies:
Families including
children with
Autism Spectrum
Disorder who are
minimally verbal.
J Autism Dev
disorder, 2015
Jun, 45(6):1712-
1724. doi
10.1007/s10803-
014-2329-x
• the ability of
parental
intervention
strategies to
improve their
communicatio
n skills.
• Joint
Attention,
Symbolic
Play,
engagement,
dan
regulation
(JASP),
Enhance
Milieu
Teaching
(EMT), dan
augmented
communicat
ion berupa
Speech
Generating
Device
(SGD)..
• Parents
observe
intervention
by the
therapist to
the child.
• Parents
training in the
form of: a)
workshop, b)
passive
parent
coaching, dan
c) active
parent
coaching.
• Implementat
ion of the
strategy of
intervention
by parents
(viewed
from the
parent-child
interaction
in play
activities).
• Parents
successfull
y
implement
interventio
n strategies
of Jasp +
EMT to
support
their
children
who bear
autism.
Thomson, C.K.,
and Jenkins, T.
(2016). Training
parents to promote
communication
• Parents can
implement
home-based
treatment
p
ro
g
ram in the
• Principle of
Son-Rise
Programe(S
RP),
• Elementary
course
• Advance
course
• The impact
of the
intensity of
the
im
p
lementat
• SRP is
effective in
increasing
positive
Parental Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Review of Curriculum
525

and social
behavior in
children with
Autism: The Son-
Rise Program.
Commun Disord
Deaf Stud
Hearing Aids,
2016, 4:1, 1-7.
long term, so
that the child
can initiate
social
interactions
spontaneously
.
• Training in a
big group
ion of the
SRP by
parents of
children
• filling out
the
observation
questionnair
e of
preliminary
course and
advanced
course.
behavior of
children.
• The
number of
hours of
treatment
can
significantl
y predict
treatment
outcome.
• The
intensity of
treatment is
important
for the
behavioral
developme
nt of
children
with ASD.
Pickard, K.E. et
al. (2016). A
mixed-method
evaluation of
thefeasibility and
acceptability of a
telehealth-based
parent-mediated
intervention for
children with
autism spectrum
disorder. Autism
1–11. DOI:
10.1177/1362361
315614496.
sagepub.co.uk/jou
rnalsPermissions.
nav
• Test methods
telehealth to
deliver
training
interventions
for parents of
ASD based
(IMPACT
Online)
• Method
Impact
Online
telehealth
programs
and other
services are
accessible to
parents for
their
children.
• Usage-based
telehealth
program to
provide
learning in
evidence-
based.
intervention
• Training for
parents of
ASD
interventions
based
(IMPACT
Online)
• parental
perceptions
about the
program
Impact
Online
compared to
other
services that
are
accessible to
parents for
their
children
• experiences
and
perceptions
of parents
about the
program as a
result of the
involvement
of the
therapist as a
mentor
program.
• Communic
ation skills
of children
increased.
• Parents
receiver
supports
the
guidance of
the
therapist
and the
acceptabilit
y of the
program
observabilit
y.
• Internet-
based
services
potentially
efficient for
the
disseminati
on of the
training
interventio
n by
p
arents.
Bearss, K. et al.
(2015). Effect of
parent training vs
parent education
on behavioral
problems in
children with
autism spectrum
disorder, a
randomized
• Parents have
information
about autism
and were able
to reduce
problem
behaviors of
children with
ASD.
• The basic
concept of
autism.
• The
importance
of
evaluation.
• Changes in
the
Training:
• individual
• 11 main
sessions, 2
sessions of
choice, 6
parent-child
training
sessions, 2
sessions
• Evaluation
of the child
by the
parents to
know the
behavior of
disruptive
and
disobedient,
(using
• The
training
program is
better than
the
education
program
for parents
to reduce
disruptive
ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences
526

clinical trial.
Jama, 2015,
313(15), 1524-
1533. doi
10.1001/jama.201
5.3150
developmen
t of ASD.
• Planning of
education.
• Advocacy
and choice
of treatment.
• Specific
strategies for
managing
disruptive
behavior.
telephone
booster, and
one home
visit.
• Flexible
Schedule.
• Direct
Teaching,
video,
practice, role
play with
feedback.
• Assignment
to apply new
techniques for
specific
behavior.
• Education:
the provision
of
information
• 12 main
sessions and
one home
visit.
Aberrant
Behavior
Checklist-
Irritability
subscale
dan Home
Situation
Questionnai
re-Autism
Spectrum
Disorder).
behavior of
children
with ASD.
Brian, J.A., et al.
(2016). The Social
ABCs caregiver-
mediated
intervention for
toddles with
autism spectrum
disorder:
Feasibility,
acceptability, and
evidence of
promis from a
multisite study.
Autism Research,
9:899-912. doi
10.1002/aur.1582
• Parents can be
the mediator
for his alleged
intervention or
ASD bears the
functional
aspects of
vocal
communicatio
n skills and
sharing
positive
affect.
• Concept and
determinatio
n of ASD
intervention
techniques
that can be
integrated
into the
daily
routine.
Workshop one
week:
• working
directly
with ASD
children
• cooperation
1: 1 with at
least three
families to
practice
intervention
strategies.
• Review by
senior staff
who are
trained to
videotape
participants
when
parents
intervene
and interact
with
children.
• ABCs of
Social
Interventio
n model
feasible to
be studied
and applied
by parents.
Tonge, B., et al.
(2014). A
randomized group
comparison
controlled trial of
preschoolers with
autism: A parent
education and
skills training
intervention for
young children
with autistic
disorder. Autism,
2014, vol 18(2),
166-177. doi
10.1177/1362361
312458186
• Parents can
enhance
adaptive
behavior and
cognitive
skills /
language and
reduce the
symptoms of
autism ASD
child bearing.
Program
PEBM:
• Manual-
based
Education
"Preschooler
with Autism"
• Training in
behavior
management
skills.
PEAC Program:
• Manual-
based
Education
"Preschooler
with Autism"
Program PEBM:
• discussion,
modeling,
watching
videos,
homework,
feedback,
practice.
• group
sessions and
individual
sessions.
PEAC Program:
• expository,
discussions
and
counseling.
• The
evaluation
by the
assessment
team autism
from
different
disciplines,
to both
parents and
children
after 6
months
following
the
program.
• PEAC
improve the
child's
ability in
communica
tion,
socializatio
n, and daily
living
skills.
• PEBM
provide a
greater
effect than
the PEAC.
Parental Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Review of Curriculum
527

Table 1 above shows that the curriculum or
intervention program developed relatively the same,
which aimed to equip parents to have the ability to
understand the characteristics of ASD and practical
skills about strategy or how to intervene on their
children who bear ASD. An intervention program
developed specifically and flexibly adapted to the
needs of children with ASD, as well as curriculum
content which is developed based on the analysis of
objective needs of each child with ASD. There are
differences in terms of content (material) that were
trained, strategies and evaluation methods and
instruments used, however, in general interventions
contribute to the improvement of the effective ability
in children with ASD.
From some articles that were reviewed,
parents of children with ASD can take the role of an
effective intervention, provided that they are trained
and prepared beforehand with the understanding of
theory and practice in order to help intervene in
accordance with the needs of their children. The
timing of the intervention is highly dependent on the
scope of skills or competencies that must be mastered
by children with ASD. Similarly, an evaluation into
the effectiveness of interventions tailored to the type
of intervention. As it turned out, the effectiveness of
the intervention was strongly influenced by the fit
between curriculum developed, trained content for
parents (Bearss, K. et al. (2015), the intensity of the
interventions (Thomson, CK, and Jenkins, T., 2016),
means used (Solomon, R., Necheles, J, Ferch, C., and
Bruckman, D., 2007; Bears, K. et al., 2015), and who
performed the intervention (Solomon, R., Necheles,
J, Ferch, C., and Bruckman, D., 2007), as well as the
evaluation used to measure the success of
interventions (Shire, et al., 2015). to obtain optimal
results, parental intervention actors is highly
recommended in obtaining assistance from
psychologists and / or therapist.
4 CONCLUSION
To obtain optimal intervention results which are
effective and efficient, the development of a
curriculum for children with ASD should be done by
providing understanding and skills to parents of
children with ASD to be independently developing
the curriculum. Parents of children with ASD are very
precisely suitable to be the intervention giver because
of their psychological proximity and availability of
time they have to intervene. Parents need to be given
a briefing by the expert assistance through problem-
based learning that the specific needs and
characteristics of persons with ASD. Evaluation
should be carried out jointly between parents and
teachers in order to achievement skills which are
intervened and measured in accordance with
established criteria.
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