Supporting African communities to increase resilience and mental health of kids with developmental disabilities and their caregivers using the World Health Organization's Caregiver Skills Training Programme (SPARK trial): study protocol for a cluster randomised clinical controlled trial.

Background: Most children with developmental disabilities (DD) live in low- and middle-income countries, but access to services is limited, impacting their ability to thrive. Pilot study findings of the World Health Organization's Caregiver Skills Training (WHO CST) intervention, which equips caregivers with strategies to facilitate learning and adaptive behaviours in children with DD, are promising but evidence from an appropriately powered trial delivered by non-specialist facilitators is lacking. This study will investigate the effectiveness and the resource impacts and costs and consequences of the WHO CST intervention in four sites in rural and urban Kenya and Ethiopia.

Treatment mechanism of the WHO caregiver skills training intervention for autism delivered in community settings.

This study examined the mechanism of effect of the WHO Caregiver Skills Training (CST) through secondary analysis of a pilot RCT conducted in community settings. Participants were 86 caregivers (77% mothers) of children with ASD (78% male, mean age: 44.8 months) randomized to CST (n = 43) or treatment as usual (n = 43).

Correction: Exploring contextual adaptations in caregiver interventions for families raising children with developmental disabilities.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Caregiver skills training for caregivers of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: To systematically review the effectiveness of caregiver and parent skills training programs, including caregiver-mediated interventions, for caregivers of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Method: We conducted a systematic review with a random-effects meta-analysis. We searched 11 electronic databases through July 2021 and used a snowball methodology to locate relevant articles of randomized controlled trials.

Mediation of 6-year mid-childhood follow-up outcomes after pre-school social communication (PACT) therapy for autistic children: randomised controlled trial.

Background: There are very few mechanistic studies of the long-term impact of psychosocial interventions in childhood. The parent-mediated Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) RCT showed sustained effects on autistic child outcomes from pre-school to mid-childhood. We investigated the mechanism by which the PACT intervention achieved these effects.