Abstract

Executive functioning (EF) skills deficits are prevalent among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (autism) that impacts their academic functioning, social relationships, and families' quality of life. This study aimed to explore an online parent group intervention, to test effectiveness of a 6-week parenting intervention on parenting stress and child's executive functioning (EF) among autism families in rural Utah with limited access to traditional intervention resources. The participants were eight parents from six families of children and adolescents (8-15 years) with clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and appropriate language abilities for their age. The parents participated in weekly online group sessions conducted by a board-certified behavior analyst and a school psychologist intern. The Unstuck and On Target manualized curriculum for parents was used sequentially for 6 weeks. To evaluate the impact of the intervention various quantitative measures were used before and after intervention: Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition, Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition and the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents, daily parenting stress check-in. The quantitative measures demonstrated significant decrease in daily parental stress with an overall large effect among three of four reporters. The standardized measures of parental reported stress index revealed improvement in various aspects including parenting competence, isolation, and parent-child relationship. The parents perceived positive impact of the intervention on their child's EF. Parents scored treatment acceptability high. In conclusion, online, parentmediated, group model of parent intervention with manual-guided EF curriculum is a feasible and effective treatment for families with autism and EF difficulties. This model showed promising results concerning rural community with limited access to resources.

Degree

EdS

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Counseling Psychology and Special Education

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2026-08-07

Document Type

Thesis

Keywords

autism, executive function, parent training, parenting stress, online intervention, rural access

Language

english

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