Aspen Sikorsky, “Technology-Based Family-Focused Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review”
Mentor: Hyunkong Oh, Nursing, Nursing (School of)
Poster #128
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience more stress than other parents. Recently, a shortage of developmental and behavioral health providers exists in the United States, thus only 20% of those in need of treatment receive services from trained practitioners for children, adolescent, and their families. Specifically, the pandemic situation worsens a lack of sufficient health care access. Use of technology to develop and deliver interventions might contribute to the solution. The purpose of this review is to explore technology-based interventions for people with ASD and their families. A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Seven databases were searched in 2024 to identify eligible studies for review that were published since 2010 using the key words: autism, intervention/program, technology-based/computer-based/mobile, and family/parent/caregiver. We searched 2,576 articles, and 15 articles were finally included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted based on the PICO framework. Of the 15 articles, ten were randomized clinical trials and five were non-randomized clinical trials. Eight studies aimed to test both clinical efficacy of intervention and feasibility of each delivery platform. Five aimed to examine clinical efficacy and two aimed to identify usability and acceptability of interventions. Four developed and tested a parent emotion support program using web-based and mobile approaches. Six developed a parent training program to teach applied behavior analysis therapy using telehealth, including videos and sensors. Two developed a game-based program for children with autism to teach joint-attention, imitation, and gestures. Two developed a computer-based program to support sleep problems and anxiety management, respectively. One study developed a social script using an iPad to describe imaging exams in the hospital. Most participants in each study were satisfied with their interventions. Also, the interventions showed some promise in reducing parent stress and improving children’s behaviors.