This study aimed to examine the effects of telehealth-based parent education interventions on social communication and daily living skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The systematic re...
This study aimed to examine the effects of telehealth-based parent education interventions on social communication and daily living skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, and a total of 1,271 records were identified from domestic and international electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, ERIC, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, RISS, and DBpia. Based on the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 24 studies were finally included in the systematic review. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, RoBANS, and the PEDro scale. Among these, four studies that met the PICO-SD criteria and allowed effect size calculation were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 849 participants were included across the studies, with the majority targeting early childhood or mixed-age groups. Combined interventions integrating parent coaching and parent–child interaction were most frequently reported, and most studies provided interventions once weekly for 45–60 minutes over 9–16 weeks. The primary outcome variables were social communication and daily living skills. The meta-analysis revealed a moderate-to-large overall effect of telehealth-based parent education (Hedges’ g = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.18–1.35). A large effect was found for social communication (Hedges’ g = 1.01, 95% CI = −0.04–2.06), whereas a moderate effect was observed for daily living skills (Hedges’ g = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.02–0.83). High heterogeneity was identified in the social communication domain (Q = 38.89, I² = 89.7%), while almost no heterogeneity was observed in the daily living skills domain (Q = 2.68, I² = 0.0%). Although some asymmetry was detected in the funnel plot, the direction of the intervention effect remained consistent after Trim-and-Fill adjustment. These findings suggest that telehealth-based parent education interventions can be utilized as home-based interventions to improve social communication and daily living skills in children with ASD. Clinically, such interventions may be flexibly applied either as standalone approaches or in combination with existing interventions, taking into account the child’s developmental level and the family’s environmental context.