PTR-YC in Action: Child, Parent, and Family Outcomes of a Challenging Behavior Management Program in Real-World Public Early Intervention Settings

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC) as implemented within public early behavioral intervention (EBI) for children with autism or intellectual disability. Several adjustments to the research design and to training and intervention protocols were made in response to organizational constraints, the COVID-19 several waves and families' needs within this real-world intervention context. METHODS: EBI educators were trained in the PTR-YC program, which they then applied with the parents of a child in their caseload who presented challenging behavior. Parent-practitioner intervention teams were divided in two cohorts according to their readiness to apply the program. Parents evaluated their chid's challenging behavior, their parenting stress levels, caregiving strain, and sense of competence, as well as their family's quality of life before and after program application, as well as the acceptability of the program after its application. RESULTS: Frequency of children's aggressive behavior, decreased significantly after program application, but not self-injurious, stereotyped or overall challenging behavior. Parents' feelings of strain and parental stress also decreased after the program, while family quality of life had improved. The program did not change parents' sense of competence. Parents rated the PTR-YC as generally acceptable. CONCLUSION: As implemented within this real-world context of public EBI services, the PTR-YC program has shown promising results on child, parent, and family outcomes.