Purpose: The American Pediatric Association estimates autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts approximately 1.7% of American children. Researchers suggest early intervention should include gesture usage to facilitate receptive and expressive language development. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, parental involvement is recommended for positive outcomes during the early intervention process. Method: A single subject, A-B design was utilized to measure the effects of a parent gesture training program for parents of young children with ASD. Three parents participated in the three-week investigation completing 10-11 sessions with eight of the sessions used for the intervention. Participant gesture usage frequency data were measured and analyzed during the baseline and intervention phase. Upon completing the baseline phase, participants completed 20-25 minutes of in-clinic training sessions including a screencast, parent feedback, active participant implementation, and a reflection component. Results: Participants increased gesture use across the intervention phase. The accelerating trend in the intervention data path with an increased average rate of change across intervention sessions of 0.64 to 0.93 would be indicative of a positive change in the number of gestures used by parents after implementation of the intervention. Statistical and clinical significance were observed across all participants. Discussion: The findings from this investigation supported a high frequency parent training program for increasing gesture use. With parent trainings focused on increased gesture usage during play and during daily activities, parents can utilize learned skills to provide intervention while knowing they are providing the therapeutic technique correctly and confidently. An increase in gesture use by parents support previous literature related to high frequency parent training programs involving parents of young children with ASD.
