Parent training for parents of children on the autism spectrum: a review

Abstract

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with biological, genetic, environmental and developmental causes, which are still not clearly understood. Parents are usually the primary caregivers for their children and the essential link between home and school environments. Often they also take on a coach or therapist role across a variety of interventions, which demands a great amount of time, dedication, energy and financial resources. Increased parent skills allow for continued opportunities for the child to learn in a range of different situations and environments, and parent training is now considered an important component of successful intervention programs. This paper is a review of current research regarding parent training for parents of children on the autism spectrum.