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. 2013 Jun 1;25(3):355-371.
doi: 10.1007/s10882-012-9316-y.

Use of a Direct Observational Measure in a Trial of Risperidone and Parent Training in Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Benjamin L Handen  1 , Cynthia R Johnson, Eric M Butter, Luc Lecavalier, Lawrence Scahill, Michael G Aman, Christopher J McDougle, L Eugene Arnold, Naomi B Swiezy, Denis G Sukhodolsky, James A Mulick, Susan W White, Karen Bearss, Jill A Hollway, Kimberly A Stigler, James Dziura, Sunkyung Yu, Kelley Sacco, Benedetto Vitiello
Affiliations

Use of a Direct Observational Measure in a Trial of Risperidone and Parent Training in Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Benjamin L Handen et al. J Dev Phys Disabil. .

Abstract

A Structured Observational Analog Procedure (SOAP), an analogue measure of parent-child interactions, was used to assess treatment outcome in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and serious behavior problems. It served as a secondary outcome measure in a 24-week, randomized trial of risperidone (MED; N=49) versus risperidone plus parent training (COMB; n=75) (ages 4-13 years). At 24-weeks, there was 28 % reduction in child inappropriate behavior during a Demand Condition (p=.0002) and 12 % increase in compliance to parental requests (p=.004) for the two treatment conditions combined. Parents displayed 64 % greater use of positive reinforcement (p=.001) and fewer repeated requests for compliance (p<.0001). In the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), COMB parents used significantly more positive reinforcement (p=.01) and fewer restrictive statements (p<.05) than MED parents. The SOAP is sensitive to change in child and parent behavior as a function of risperidone alone and in combination with PMT and can serve as a valuable complement to parent and clinician-based measures.

Keywords: Autism; Autism spectrum disorder; Behavioral interventions; Clinical trials; Observational measures; Parent training.

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