Two Florida State University faculty members received a $16,000 grant from the Mental Research Institute to launch their project, “Family Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Telehealth Response.” Dr. Michele Parker of the FSU College of Human Sciences and Dr. Michael Killian of the FSU College of Social Work will assess Behavioral Health Services offered by the FSU Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Testing Center (FSU MDC).

“This clinical research project will evaluate treatment outcomes for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder [(ASD)] after eight sessions of telehealth family therapy,” said Dr. Michael Killian, assistant professor at the College of Social Work. In 2019, Dr. Parker worked with FSU MDC to establish the Behavioral Health Services program so the center could offer family therapy for children exhibiting challenging behaviors who received or were waiting to receive an assessment for ASD or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Recent reports indicate that the prevalence of ASD is 1 in 54 children under the age of eight years old, a ten percent increase since a previous report in 2018. “As the prevalence of ASD in the United States continues to rise, there is a growing need for autism treatment and therapeutic services,” stressed Dr. Parker, assistant professor at the College of Human Sciences. “The recent quarantine associated with the outbreak of COVID-19 has been particularly challenging to children with ASD and their families, as the disruption to daily routines and the limited access to specialists has adversely affected family functioning.”  

A 2020 study indicated eighty percent of parents reporting a disruption of their children’s autism services, particularly due to school and clinic closures. Healthcare providers worldwide have been forced to innovate and adapt to virtual means of connecting with clients. Telehealth is a convenient means to deliver behavioral health services, but the effectiveness of telehealth family therapy on treatments like ASD has not been examined, added Dr. Parker.

The project seeks to determine the effectiveness of telehealth compared to in-person family therapy to treat children with ASD and their families. The FSU MDC is an incredibly vital resource for ASD assessment and evaluation in the Florida Panhandle, providing these services to twenty school districts and community agencies in the Florida Panhandle, including rural communities, racial and ethnic minorities and low-income families.

A majority of the funds provided by the grant will be dedicated to reimbursing participants and covering the cost of the therapy sessions. Participants will be recruited from families seeking behavioral health services through FSU MDC. Clinical data from families receiving in-person family therapy will be compared to the data collected on the families receiving services via telehealth.

Dr. Parker and Dr. Killian will lead the data collection. Several FSU students will assist the project, including Chrystal McDowell, a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program doctoral student, who is serving as the project’s graduate research assistant.

The study’s findings will provide further insight into the effectiveness of telehealth therapies compared with in-person services. “This project is an extension of our ongoing research focus to highlight the inextricable relationship between biological, psychological, relational and contextual effects of ASD among all members in a family system,” stated Dr. Parker.

Contact Dr. Michele Parker at mparker5@fsu.edu or Dr. Michael Killian at mkillian@fsu.edu. Learn more about evaluations and services provided at the FSU Multidisciplinary Center at mdc.fsu.edu.