Morgan, L., Hooker, J. L., Sparapani, N., Reinhardt, V. P., Schatschneider, C., & Wetherby, A. M. (2018). Cluster randomized trial of the classroom SCERTS intervention for elementary students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 86(7), 631–644. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000314

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 60 Schools (197 students)

Population:

• Age — Children: Mean=6.77–6.82 years; Caregivers: Mean=30.14–31.19 years; Teachers: Mean=41.86–42.98 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: 63%–65% White, 20%–23% Hispanic, 12%–13% Black, 9%–10% Asian, 8%–9% Not Reported, and 4%–9% Multiracial; Caregivers: Not Specified; Teachers: 83%– 89% White, 5% Asian, 4%–5% Not Reported, 3% Multiracial, 2%–4% Black, and 1%– 6% Hispanic
• Gender — Children: 79%–85% Male; Caregivers: Not specified; Teachers: 95%–96% Female
• Status — Participants were enrolled in either a general education or special education classroom and had a diagnosis, either clinical or educational, of autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), or Asperger syndrome as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV).

Location/Institution: California, Florida, and Georgia

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Classroom Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS) intervention (CSI) compared with usual school-based education with autism training modules (ATM). Participant schools with students in 129 classrooms were randomly assigned to CSI or ATM. Measures utilized include the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (fifth ed. [SB-51]), the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and measures of classroom active engagement (AE), vocabulary, adaptive behavior, social skills, and executive functioning. Results indicate that the CSI group showed significantly better outcomes than the ATM group on observed measures of classroom active engagement with respect to social interaction. The CSI group also had significantly better outcomes on measures of adaptive communication, social skills, and executive functioning. Limitations include that parents and teachers were aware of student treatment condition and therefore the potential for bias cannot be ruled out, lack of follow-up, and concerns about lack of generalizability due to child gender.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.