Parent Education for the Treatment of Severe Behaviour Problems in Children with Developmental Disabilities [ 2002 - 2003 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Jeffrey Sigafoos (Principal investigator) ,  Prof Trevor Parmenter (Principal investigator) ,  Prof Stewart Einfeld

Brief description Approximately 40% of children with developmental disabilities have severe behaviour problems (e.g., aggression, self-injury, property destruction, and extreme tantrums) (Einfeld and Tonge, 1996). The care of a child with such problems represents a significant burden to parents and society. One of the most promising treatments is functional communication training (FCT), which aims to reduce problem behaviours by improving the child's communication skills. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of FCT (Mirenda, 1997). Wacker et al. (1998) have shown that parents can be taught to use FCT, but these parents received individual consultations, which would seem to limit its practicality. Preliminary results from our current APEX grant suggest that parents can learn to implement this treatment in a group format, which is more practical from a public health perspective. However, it is currently unknown if group training is as effective as individual consultation. In the present application, we aim to compare these two ways of teaching parents how to use FCT. From a total sample of 36, the parents of 18 children will be randomly assigned to the group training format and 18 to the individual format. All parents will receive 12 hours of training on how to use FCT, either as part of a group of 3 families (mothers and-or fathers) in the clinic or on a one-to-one basis in the family home. Pre, post, and follow-up measures of problem behaviours will be used to address the research question: Is group training as effective as individual consultation? If so, we would have demonstrated a more practical way of teaching parents how to implement this evidence-based treatment for child behaviour problems.

Funding Amount $AUD 116,220.00

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant