Examining the Efficacy of the RUBI Parent Training Program in a Clinical Setting for Parents of Children Older Than 7 Years of Age with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Disruptive Behaviors

Abstract

Disruptive behaviors are common and severe in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to deficits with social and communication skills and restricted or rigid behaviors and interests. Parenting interventions are an effective means of providing support for children with ASD; however, parenting interventions with a specific aim of reducing of disruptive behaviors in children with ASD are limited. The Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) parent training was created to increase access to an evidence-based parenting intervention to help decrease the presence of disruptive behaviors in children with diagnoses of ASD and is an evidence-based intervention to reduce disruptive behaviors in children less than 7 years old. The current study assessed the efficacy of the RUBI parent training program in a clinical setting with N = 55 children between 7 to 13 years of age to understand the average trajectory of change in child outcomes associated with parent RUBI participation from baseline through post-treatment follow-up, and the extent to which child age and sex, treatment dosage, and provider education level are associated with such changes. Results indicate that the RUBI parent training program is efficacious in reducing child disruptive behaviors of irritability and noncompliance based on parent ratings; specifically, results revealed a mean 40% decrease in child irritability ratings and mean 52% decrease in child noncompliance ratings. Child age, child sex, treatment dosage, or provider education level did not influence the growth rates. Additionally, children 8.6 years old and above had lower baseline levels of irritability scores, and higher scores at baseline were associated with a greater number of treatment sessions (14 or more sessions). The results suggest that the RUBI parent training program is an efficacious intervention in reducing disruptive behaviors for parents of children above 7 years of age with ASD and disruptive behaviors in clinical settings.