Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Parents Implementing Early Intervention for Autism: An RCT.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Systems of care emphasize parent-delivered intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Meanwhile, multiple studies document psychological distress within these parents. This pilot longitudinal randomized controlled trial compared the parent-implemented Early Start Denver Model (P-ESDM) to P-ESDM plus mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for parents. We evaluated changes in parent functioning during active treatment and at follow-up. METHODS: Participants included children ( RESULTS: Both groups improved during active treatment in all subdomains of parent stress (β = −1.42, −1.25, −0.92; P CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that manualized, low-intensity stress-reduction strategies may have long-term impacts on parent stress. Limitations and future directions are described.