As many as 50% of autistic children engage in behaviors such as meltdowns, shutdowns, aggression, or self-injury that can have safety implications and reduce overall quality of life. Impacts include difficulties engaging in or completing daily living skills, reductions in access to educational services, and increases in social isolation. The recognized struggles parents face in effectively supporting their autistic child have sparked increased interest in evidence-based parent training (PT) programs, as they empower parents to become an agent of change as they learn approaches that are designed to better scaffold and respond to their child’s needs. The Research Unit on Behavioral Interventions (RUBI) Autism Network developed a manualized parent training program that utilizes techniques grounded in behavior analytic principles to teach families of autistic children how to successfully navigate their child’s behaviors. With over twenty published research studies on the RUBI program, we have found that it is acceptable to parents, can be reliably delivered by trained therapists, and reduces children’s quality of life impacting behaviors. RUBI is emerging as an important component of short-term, effective treatment for autistic children and has been expanding reach into community-based clinical practice.
Parenting Interventions for Autistic Youth with Challenging Behaviors: Adaptations and Innovations to Enhance Community Access to Care
