A Preliminary Study of Telepractice Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Publisher



Sangani MT¹ ; Ansari NN^{2, 3} ; Mohamadi R¹ ; Soleymani Z⁴
Source: Journal of Iranian Medical Council Published:2022

Abstract

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental neurological disorder characterized by impaired social interactions. The aim of study was to examine the telepractice Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (PMT) for ASD children. Methods: This study followed a pretest-posttest design. 11 mothers of children with ASD aged 26-71 months (mean=47.09 months, SD=14) were included. Mothers were given the necessary training on the PMT for 12 one-hour weekly sessions, through the WhatsApp software. The self-reported McArthur-Bates communication development inventories (CDIs) was the main outcome measure. The data were analyzed using Wilcoxon test. Results: Mean scores of expressive and perceptive words significantly improved after treatment with large effects sizes (Cohen's d >0.8). The activity and gestures section scores showed significant improvements after treatment in the areas of communication gestures, play and routines, working with objects and imitation of adult activities (Cohen's d >0.8). Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence that the telepractice of PMT is effective for children with autism spectrum disorder. Further study with a rigours design is warranted. Copyright © 2022, Journal of Iranian Medical Council. All rights reserved.