Effectiveness of Parent-Led Applied Behavior Analysis at Improving Outcomes for Parents of Autistic Children

The current study sought to understand the effect of parent-led applied behavior analyses (ABA), in comparison to practitioner-led applied behavior analysis, on parental stress and parental self-efficacy. To do this, we analyzed secondary data from a large behavioral health provider for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. We conducted a regression analysis to understand the relationship between parental stress and parental self-efficacy and a two-way mixed ANOVA to evaluate if differences existed between parent-led and practitioner-led ABA on parental stress and parental self-efficacy. The regression analysis included parents of 2,276 children with autism spectrum disorder and the comparison analysis of parent-led and practitioner-led applied behavior analysis included 152 children with autism spectrum disorder, with 76 participants in each group. The analysis found parental self-efficacy predicts 21% of parenting stress with a significant negative relationship. The results of the comparison between parent-led and practitioner-led ABA resulted in a significant difference in parental self-efficacy, whereby the parent-led group exhibited a significant increase in parental self-efficacy while the practitioner-led group did not. These results further support the efficacy of parent-mediated treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder and underscore the importance of significant inclusion of parents into ABA treatment.