Recruiting

Family-School Partnership Intervention

Sponsor:

University of North Texas, Denton, TX

Code:

NCT06506097

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 6

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)

Study Details

Brief summary:

Strategies for creating and maintaining reciprocal partnerships between teachers and parents are considered essential elements of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education (ECE). Particularly for children who are high-risk for behavioral, developmental, or mental health problems, effective partnerships between family and preschool are essential for promoting optimal classroom participation and learning outcomes. The current study is an uncontrolled (pre-post) feasibility trial of Family-School Partnership Intervention (FPSI). FSPI was developed using stakeholder input, is delivered by existing preschool staff, and aims to promote development and reduce barriers to learning among children with pre-clinical social-communication delays. FSPI integrates evidence-based practices (EBPs) from education (7 EBPs; National Association for the Education of Young Children) with clinical interventions for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (12 EBPs at the educator-parent level and 8 EBPs at the parent-child level; Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions). Data will be collected across 10 ECE programs. At each participating ECE program, research procedures will be completed during a single school year. Selected ECE programs will include public school, Head Start, and private preschool programs. Participants include 20 non-teaching support staff (1-2 per program; e.g., director, principal, education-coordinator), 30 lead teachers (2-4 per program), and 60 children with social-communication deficits (two per teacher). Data collection will focus on feasibility data (enrollment, attendance, attrition, data completion), observational measures of implementation fidelity (at the educator-parent and parent-child level), and mixed methods to evaluate educator and parent acceptability and satisfaction and identify implementation drivers/barriers. This research will prepare a large, multi-site hybrid trial to evaluate the effectiveness of FSPI for promoting social-communication skills and kindergarten readiness, in addition to factors that mediate the relation between FSPI delivery and fidelity (implementation drivers/barriers).

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study ID

NCT06506097

Start date

Jul 1, 2024

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Jul 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 2 - 6

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • currently attending classroom of participating preschool teacher.
  • nominated by teacher as child with elevated levels of social-communication challenges

Exclusion Criteria:

  • n/a

Study Design

Enrollment

83 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)

Participants include 20 non-teaching support staff (1-2 per program), 30 lead teachers (2-4 per program), and 60 children with social-communication deficits (two per teacher). FSPI creates new opportunities for teachers to partner with families, particularly parents of children with social-communication vulnerabilities. Specifically, teachers will be provided with a curriculum, training, and resources to engage two families from their classroom in three FSPI Playgroup meetings, scheduled over the course of the current school year. During each playgroup, teaches will help parents practice simple strategies for promoting communication during familiar routines such as play, book reading, preparing a snack, or completing a simple chore.

Interventions

Family-school Partnership Intervention (FSPI)

FSPI includes implementation activities across multiple levels.

FSPI Planning Team Meetings will be held monthly to plan project activities, practice staff and parent coaching strategies, and troubleshoot implementation challenges.

FSPI Staff Training (3 hours) will be provided during a single professional development day (3 hours), and attended by members of the FSPI Planning Team and teachers.

FSPI Playgroups. Over the course of the school year, each parent-child dyad will be invited to participate in three FSPI Playgroup events. Typically, teachers from two classrooms will collaborate in hosting playgroup events, and each playgroup will be attended by four parent-child dyads (i.e., two per classroom). Teachers will be provided with a curriculum and learning outcomes to target.

FSPI Debrief Meetings are held after each FSPI Playgroup to debrief, reflect, and improve FSPI implementation.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility benchmark - Enrollment [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year ]
  • Feasibility benchmark - FSPI Completion [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year ]
  • Feasibility benchmark - Session Attendance [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year ]
  • Feasibility benchmark - Measure Completion [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Michael Siller, PhD

8505677474michael.siller@unt.edu

Locations

UNT

Recruiting

Denton, Texas, United States, 76203

Contacts

Michael Siller, PhD

9405654596Megan.Lukanuski@unt.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of North Texas, Denton, TX

Last update posted

Sep 4, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • autism
  • preschool
  • Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention
  • education
  • parent

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of North Texas, Denton, TX on 2026-09-04.