Cluster Randomized Trial of a School Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Lopata, Christopher; Thomeer, Marcus L.; Rodgers, Jonathan D.; Donnelly, James P.; McDonald, Christin A.; Volker, Martin A.; Smith, Tristram H.; Wang, Hongyue (2019). Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology v48 n6 p922-933 Dec 2019 . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED607134
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examining102Students, grades1-5
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2023
- Single Study Review (findings for schoolMAX)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Spelling subtest |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
104.46 |
104.58 |
No |
-- | |
|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Letter-Word Identification subtest |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
106.83 |
106.18 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Writing Samples Subtest |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
97.67 |
95.86 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Calculation |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
107.19 |
102.80 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Passage Comprehension Subtest |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
97.10 |
93.84 |
No |
-- |
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Researcher-developed Adapted Skillstreaming Checklist (ASC) |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
112.20 |
108.71 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Cambridge Mindreading Face-Voice Battery for Children (CAM-C) |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
58.73 |
48.76 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition, School Age Form (SRS-2) |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
64.84 |
69.72 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Social Interaction Observation Scale (SIOS) |
schoolMAX vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
37.58 |
35.04 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 9%
Male: 91% -
Suburban
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Race Other or unknown 4% White 96% -
Ethnicity Other or unknown 100% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 31% Other or unknown 69%
Study Details
Setting
This study was conducted in 35 public elementary schools across 17 suburban districts in the United States.
Study sample
The researchers randomly assigned 17 schools to the intervention group and 18 schools to the comparison group. A total of 102 students with autism spectrum disorder in grades 1 through 5 were included in the study. Ninety-six percent of students in the sample were White and 91% were male. Approximately 31% of all students in the schools were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Intervention Group
The intervention, schoolMAX, is a comprehensive school-based intervention for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. The intervention consists of five components. First, students participated in social skills groups led by a school psychologist, speech pathologist, or social worker. Students worked on twenty-six social skills with increasing complexity over time. Groups of six students with social impairments met 2-3 times per week for a total of 60-90 minutes per week. Second, a classroom aide or teaching assistant provided emotion recognition instruction called Mind Reading. This in-person instruction included interactive software that taught recognition of 100 emotions in facial and vocal expressions. Students completed lessons independently with the supervision of the school staff member 2-3 times per week for a total of 60 minutes. Third, students participated in therapeutic activities led by a counselor or teacher to practice target social and emotion recognition skills. The activities were intended to encourage students to develop and explore new interests. The therapeutic sessions occurred 2 times per week for a total of 40-60 minutes in groups that also included students without disabilities and students with other disabilities. Fourth, a teacher provided students with feedback on their target skills in intervals throughout the school day. Students could earn points by accomplishing targeted skills during each interval and could earn a reward after completing 75 percent of points available in each day. The daily notes were also shared with parents. Fifth, parents of the participating students attended a training led by a social worker or school psychologist. The training goals were to (1) encourage communication between home and school and (2) support parents to understand the intervention and use the daily feedback to reinforce target skills at home. Parent training was conducted once a month during the school year for 60-90 minutes per session.
Comparison Group
Children with autism spectrum disorder in comparison group schools received their typical educational program, including their individualized education program services. Interviews with staff in these schools revealed that some students were participating in a social skills intervention for 30 minutes per week and some were following a behavior plan, but none of the social skills interventions were manualized or followed a particular curriculum.
Support for implementation
Staff from intervention group schools received the schoolMAX intervention manual and completed 10 hours of training in classroom didactic instruction and 20 hours of observations, practice, and planning. Staff members also received $1,200.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
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Study findings for this report.
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as defined in the
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and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).