Coaching Child-Directed Interactions for Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and accompanying language delays often exhibit behavioral and relational challenges. One of the most important predictors of success and fulfillment for a child with ASD is the support from the family system. Despite the importance of the sibling relationship on outcomes for children with ASD, the focus on sibling interventions for ASD and challenging behaviors is limited. In this study, researchers used a concurrent multiple baseline experimental design across sibling behaviors. Interventions were sequentially introduced across three classes of behavior: (1) Praise and Behavior Description; (2) Reflection, Imitation, and Positive Touch; and (3) Question, Command, and Negative Talk. Following introduction of the sibling coaching intervention, older siblings were effective in both learning and implementing all the child-directed interactions skills, increasing “PRIDE” skills, and decreasing “Avoid” skills in the multifaceted repertoire. Psychometric assessment pre- and post-intervention showed that parents reported improved scores for parenting stress and ratings of child behavior. The current studies’ findings documented that during play interactions, siblings can effectively learn and apply the positive Child-Directed Interaction (CDI) skills to help strengthen sibling relationships of children with ASD.