Parent Training for Youth with Autism Served in Community Settings: A Mixed-Methods Investigation Within a Community Mental Health System

Parent training programs focus on parent knowledge and/or skill development regarding strategies to improve child outcomes. Parent training programs are considered evidenced-based treatments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet little is known about parent training use for youth with ASD served in community settings. This mixed methods project examined parent training for Medicaid-enrolled youth with ASD under age 21. Data were obtained from Medicaid claims for 879 youth and surveys from 97 applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers. Open-ended survey items were analyzed with content analysis. Results demonstrated that the frequency of parent training was low and providers’ conceptualization of parent training was inconsistent with evidence-based models. Providers are largely unaware of evidence-based components (i.e., modeling, caregiver practice with feedback) and use them infrequently. Implications for increasing parent training in community settings are discussed.