title: Outcome for Children with Autism who Began Intensive Behavioral Treatment Between Ages 4 and 7 A two-year prospective follow-up study of community-based early intensive behavioural intervention and specialist nursery provision for children with autism spectrum disorders. Early intensive behavioral intervention: outcomes for children with autism and their parents after two years. Early Intensive Behavioral Treatment: Replication of the UCLA Model in a Community Setting
abstract: This study extends findings on the effects of intensive applied behavior analytic treatment for children with autism who began treatment at a mean age of 5.5 years . The  behavioral treatment group ( n = 13 , 8 boys ) was compared to an  eclectic treatment group ( n = 12 , 11 boys ) . Assignment to groups was made independently based on the availability of qualified supervisors . Both behavioral and eclectic treatment took place in public kindergartens and elementary schools for typically developing children . At a mean age of 8 years , 2 months , the behavioral treatment group showed larger increases in IQ and adaptive functioning than did the eclectic group . The behavioral treatment group also displayed fewer aberrant behaviors and social problems at follow-up . Results suggest that behavioral treatment was effective for children with autism in the study BACKGROUND This prospect i ve study compared outcome for pre-school children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) receiving autism-specific nursery provision or home-based Early Intensive Behavioural Interventions ( EIBI ) in a community setting . METHODS Forty-four 23- to 53-month-old children with ASD participated ( 28 in EIBI home-based programmes ; 16 in autism-specific nurseries ) . Cognitive , language , play , adaptive behaviour skills and severity of autism were assessed at intake and 2 years later . RESULTS Both groups showed improvements in age equivalent scores but st and ard scores changed little over time . At follow-up , there were no significant group differences in cognitive ability , language , play or severity of autism . The only difference approaching significance ( p = .06 ) , in favour of the EIBI group , was for Vinel and Daily Living Skills st and ard scores . However , there were large individual differences in progress , with intake IQ and language level best predicting overall progress . CONCLUSIONS Home-based EIBI , as implemented in the community , and autism-specific nursery provision produced comparable outcomes after two years of intervention An intervention group ( n=23 ) of preschool children with autism was identified on the basis of parent preference for early intensive behavioral intervention  and a comparison group ( n=21 ) identified as receiving treatment as usual .  Prospect i ve assessment was undertaken before treatment , after 1 year of treatment , and again after 2 years . Groups did not differ on assessment s at baseline but after 2 years , robust differences favoring intensive behavioral intervention were observed on measures of intelligence , language , daily living skills , positive social behavior , and a statistical measure of best outcome for individual children . Measures of parental well-being , obtained at the same three time points , produced no evidence that behavioral intervention created increased problems for either mothers or fathers of children receiving it ABSTRACT . Although previous studies have shown favorable results with early intensive behavioral treatment ( EIBT ) for children with autism , it remains important to replicate these findings , particularly in community setting s. The authors conducted a 3-year prospect i ve outcome study that compared 2 groups : ( 1 ) 21 children who received 35 to 40 hours per week of EIBT from a community agency that replicated Lovaas ' model of EIBT and ( 2 ) 21 age- and IQ-matched children in special education classes at local public schools . A quasi-experimental design was used , with assignment to groups based on parental preference . Assessment s were conducted by independent examiners for IQ ( Bayley Scales of Infant Development or Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence ) , language ( Reynell Developmental Language Scales ) , nonverbal skill ( Merrill-Palmer Scale of Mental Tests ) , and adaptive behavior ( Vinel and Adaptive Behavior Scales ) . Analyses of covariance , with baseline scores as covariates and Year 1 - 3 assessment s as repeated measures , revealed that , with treatment , the EIBT group obtained significantly higher IQ ( F = 5.21 , p = .03 ) and adaptive behavior scores ( F = 7.84 , p = .01 ) than did the comparison group . No difference between groups was found in either language comprehension ( F = 3.82 , p = .06 ) or nonverbal skill . Six of the 21 EIBT children were fully included into regular education without assistance at Year 3 , and 11 others were included with support ; in contrast , only 1 comparison child was placed primarily in regular education . Although the study was limited by the nonr and om assignment to groups , it does provide evidence that EIBT can be successfully implemented in a community setting
target: There is some evidence that EIBI is an effective behavioral treatment for some children with ASD .
background: BACKGROUND The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) increases the need for evidence -based behavioral treatments to lessen the impact of symptoms on children 's functioning .
  At present , there are no curative or psychopharmacological therapies to effectively treat all symptoms of the disorder .
  Early intensive behavioral intervention ( EIBI ) , a treatment based on the principles of applied behavior analysis delivered for multiple years at an intensity of 20 to 40 hours per week , is one of the more well-established treatments for ASD .
  OBJECTIVES To systematic ally review the evidence for the effectiveness of EIBI in increasing the functional behaviors and skills of young children with ASD .