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Implementation of a Teacher Classroom Program to Support Preschool Children With Autism or Developmental Problems
Sponsor: Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
Summary
The Incredible Years® "Helping Preschool Children with Autism" (IY-HPCA) program is designed for teachers of children aged 2 to 5 years who have students with autism in their classrooms. The program provides tools to support children with autism. The primary aim of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility of implementing the IY-HPCA intervention among teachers of preschool children (typically aged 2 to 5 years) working in mainstream schools. Specifically, the study aims to assess teachers' engagement, acceptability, and satisfaction with the program. Secondarily, it aims to gather preliminary evidence on the program's effectiveness in improving teachers' use of strategies, teacher self-efficacy, and in reducing burnout. An exploratory randomized controlled pilot trial will be conducted. Approximately 40 teachers will be recruited, and they will be randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. The intervention consists of six weekly sessions lasting 3 hours each, delivered by clinical psychologists and child psychiatrists specialized in developmental disorders at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, in Barcelona. Two intervention face-to-face groups will be conducted at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. Feasibility outcomes include program attendance, acceptability, and satisfaction (assessed using the Incredible Years Teacher Workshop Evaluations and the Teacher Satisfaction Questionnaire), as well as fidelity to the intervention delivery (measured with the Leader Checklist). After the intervention, individual interviews with teachers and group leaders will qualitatively assess satisfaction and experiences with the program. Secondary (effectiveness) outcomes include teachers' use of strategies (Teacher Strategies Questionnaire for Children with Autism), self-efficacy (Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale), and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey). This study will provide pioneering insights into the implementation of this program within the public mental health and education systems in Spain. This will allow the potential implementation of a wider randomized controlled trial in the future at a larger scale.
Official title: A Mixed-methods Evaluation of the Implementation of a Teacher Classroom Program to Support Preschool Children With Autism or Developmental Problems: A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
Any - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
40
Start Date
2024-11-25
Completion Date
2026-01
Last Updated
2025-11-18
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Incredible Years® "Helping Preschool Children with Autism" program (IY-HPCA)
The IY-HPCA® program is a face-to-face 6-session group-based intervention for preschool teachers of children aged 2-5 with ASD or language and communication difficulties. Sessions last 3 hours, are delivered weekly, and are led by two trained co-leaders who have experience working with children on the autism spectrum. The program covers three main topics: (1) language development, (2) social interactions, and (3) emotion literacy and self-regulation. Teachers learn about coaching language, imitation, sensory routines, social communication, use of pretend and puppet play, and self-regulation skills. Visual supports such as picture schedules, choice cards, command and feelings cards are used, and practices are tailored to children's communication and play level stages. The intervention is structured and includes role-playing techniques and video visualization.
Locations (1)
Sant Joan de Deu
Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain