Characterizing the parent role in school-based interventions for autism: A systematic literature review.

Parent-focused intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has garnered considerable evidence of effectiveness for treating core symptoms of the disorder. However, these programs often teach parents discrete skills that may or may not align with school-based interventions. Family-school partnerships (FSPs) are essential for children with ASD given the complex presentation of symptoms characteristic of this disorder. It is unclear how and to what degree current school-based interventions for children with ASD include parents and whether their inclusion is consistent with definitions of parent involvement or FSPs established in the literature. A systematic review of the school-based intervention literature for children with ASD was conducted on studies published between 2002 and 2017. Thirty-six articles met inclusion criteria. Results indicated interventions included parents in ways consistent with both parent involvement and FSPs, though the former model was more common. Findings suggest a need for greater focus on measuring parent behavioral outcomes when evaluating intervention effectiveness and developing or refining interventions to include meaningful family-school partnering. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The parent role in school-based teams for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

For youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families, adolescence presents unique challenges that require parents work closely with school teams. Both parent involvement in education and family school partnerships are associated with positive student outcomes. However, research characterizing parents' role in working with school-based teams across the middle and high school years for youth with ASD is limited. The present study presents qualitative data illustrating the perspectives of 23 parents of students with ASD regarding their experiences working with middle and high school teams. Participants completed semistructured interviews, which were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Six themes were reflected in the experiences and perspectives of parents, including collaboration/partnership, advocacy, relationships, parental background, expectations, and impact on the parent. Results indicated variability in the nature and impact of parents' experiences and a need for intentional formation of meaningful partnerships between educators and families that honor the unique needs and strengths of youth and maximize team effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Intercoder Reliability and Validity of WebPlotDigitizer in Extracting Graphed Data.

Quantitative synthesis of data from single-case designs (SCDs) is becoming increasingly common in psychology and education journals. Because researchers do not ordinarily report numerical data in addition to graphical displays, reliance on plot digitizing tools is often a necessary component of this research. Intercoder reliability of data extraction is a commonly overlooked, but potentially important, step of this process. The purpose of this study was to examine the intercoder reliability and validity of WebPlotDigitizer (Rohatgi, 2015), a web-based plot digitizing tool for extracting data from a variety of plots, including XY coordinates of interrupted time-series data. Two coders extracted 3,596 data points from 168 data series in 36 graphs across 18 studies. Results indicated high levels of intercoder reliability and validity. Implications of and recommendations based on these results are discussed in relation to researchers involved in quantitative synthesis of data from SCDs.