Feasibility and Initial Efficacy of an Adapted Telepractice Listening Comprehension Intervention for School-Aged Children with Autism

This study evaluates the feasibility and initial efficacy of an 11-week listening comprehension intervention, Building Vocabulary and Early Reading Strategies (BVERS) that was delivered remotely to 14 elementary-aged children with autism spectrum disorder. Children were randomly assigned to one of two groups: BVERS only, or BVERS with a parent instructional component (BVERS + PC). Results indicate that the intervention was feasible to implement. All parents were satisfied with intervention implementation, and 8 of 10 stated that they were satisfied with their child’s outcomes following the intervention. Results of a Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed growth in listening comprehension following the intervention, but no growth in narrative retell or vocabulary. There were no group differences in change scores from pre- to post-test.