Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of variable severity characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction [1]. A child with ASD is characterized by a deficit in basic communication and social interaction skills and has inappropriate interaction with their parents [2]. They pose serious behavior problems to their parents, which can cause significant pressure, stress, and discomfort in the parents, undermining their confidence in their ability as parents and bringing to tension in the family [3].

Nowadays, there is growing evidence that ASD can be diagnosed accurately before two years. It is crucial to design and provide age-appropriate and evidence-based therapy for that age group.

Early intervention for autism should start as soon as possible. Significant research studies show that starting therapy with 1-3 years old, when the first issues with development are noticed, is highly effective for improving a child's language ability, social interaction, and play. 

Due to better brain plasticity [4] of the one to a three-year-old child, early intervention will allow these children to have closer to neurotypical development. Moreover, according to our considerable experience and studies, parent involvement and the use of trained strategies by them at home or elsewhere are essential components for a child's success and progress.

Considering the state of emergency declared in Armenia and worldwide due to the COVID 19 global pandemic, we were forced to revise and reorganize our work and continue to stay close to children with ASD and their parents, providing ongoing long-distance counseling and training to parents.

• Taking into account the unique features of each child, based on "Individual programs," we have continued to work with parents and their children on a remote platform. During this time, parents have carried out classes with the help of a specialist. The implementation of tasks has been monitored through video calls as much as possible.
•  Online monitoring has been carried out to check children's behavior, give instructions on a child's particular behavior, and help parents show a comparatively positive attitude towards the maladaptive behavior of their child. Likewise, strategies have been developed to reduce, change, and prevent a child's maladaptive behavior.
•  A set of online training has been organized for parents on complicated topics. As a result, it became possible to help parents conduct correct work with their children.

All outcomes and achievements were recorded and analyzed. Comparative research was done on how parent training and involvement will increase the program outcomes compared with families where parents remain on the sidelines and are not involved in their child's early intervention program.  

This research aims to analyze and compare the effectiveness of intervention programs when parents or family members are trained and actively involved in the program implementation with the cases when parents are not a part of it. We will consider different early intervention strategies and their effectiveness, the advantages and disadvantages of active parent involvement in the teaching process, and how to control it. In our study, we will explore how families with deficient levels of engagement have difficulties interacting with their children and how it influences their family and child itself. We will explain and bring up the fact that not evidence-based methods can affect children during early ages and have a negative influence on their future development. We will also consider the importance of assessing and creating an age-appropriate program based on the assessment results. Research Methods Our research study was conducted with 30 children with ASD aged 1-5, from which 15 parents of children have active involvement and were trained by our team how to implement an ABA program. In this study, we conducted a literature review, used questionnaires to understand parents' satisfaction with implementing the program at home, conducted an assessment by VB Mapp [5], and recorded children's progress and reduction of challenging behavior in their home or other places.

Results Our comparative study between 2 groups with (1st group) and without (2nd group) parent involvement have following outcomes: There are significant improvements • of interaction between a parent and a child in 1st group, • in children’s communication initiation in 1st group, There are substantial changes in social and communication skills in those children whose parents received training from our team and actively involved in the program and implemented it in the home or other places, Parents' knowledge of how to work with their child as a behavior therapist was widened, There are visual changes in motor, social skills, language development, and academic performance in children. There is a substantial decrease in parent stress and panic after training and starting work with their child as a therapist.

1.American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 2.Osborne, L.A.; McHugh, L.; Saunders, J.; Reed, P., Parenting stress reduces the effectiveness of early teaching interventions for autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2008, pp. 38(6), 1092-1103, 2008. 3.Baker, J. K.; Messinger, D. S.; Lyons, K.K.; Grantz, C.J., A Pilot Study of Maternal Sensitivity in the Context of Emergent Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2010, pp. 40(8), 988-999, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-0948-4. 4.Pierce, K.; Courchesne, E.; Bacon, E., To Screen or Not to Screen for ASD Universally is Not the Question: Why the Task Force Got it Wrong, The Journal of Pediatrics, 2016, pp. 176 J Pediatr. 2016 Sep; 176: 182–194. 5.Mark L. Sundberg, VB-MAPP: Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (2nd Edition) September 1, 2014