title: Language outcome in autism: randomized comparison of joint attention and play interventions. Autism in adults: symptom patterns and early childhood predictors. Use of the DISCO in a community sample followed from childhood. Randomized, Controlled Trial of an Intervention for Toddlers With Autism: The Early Start Denver Model Brief Report: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Reciprocal Imitation Training for Teaching Elicited and Spontaneous Imitation to Children with Autism Early intervention in 208 Swedish preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. A prospective naturalistic study. Parent-mediated communication-focused treatment in children with autism (PACT): a randomised controlled trial Low intensity behavioral treatment supplementing preschool services for young children with autism spectrum disorders and severe to mild intellectual disability. A two-year prospective follow-up study of community-based early intensive behavioural intervention and specialist nursery provision for children with autism spectrum disorders. Intensive Behavioral Treatment at School for 4- to 7-Year-Old Children with Autism Early Intensive Behavioral Treatment: Replication of the UCLA Model in a Community Setting Randomized Controlled Trial of the Focus Parent Training for Toddlers with Autism: 1-Year Outcome The Scottish Centre for Autism Preschool Treatment Programme Cognitive and Adaptive Behavior Outcomes of Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With Intellectual Disability
abstract: This study reports results of a r and omized controlled trial aim ed at joint attention ( JA ) and symbolic play ( SP ) in preschool children with autism , with prediction to language outcome 12 months later . Participants were 58 children ( 46 boys ) with autism between 3 and 4 years of age . Children were r and omized to a JA intervention , an SP intervention , or control group . Interventions were conducted 30 min daily for 5 - 6 weeks . Assessment s of JA skills , SP skills , mother-child interactions , and language development were collected at 4 time points : pre- and postintervention and 6 and 12 months postintervention by independent testers . Results indicate that expressive language gains were greater for both treatment groups compared with the control group , and results could not be explained by differences in other interventions in which children participated . For children beginning treatment with the lowest language levels , the JA intervention improved language outcome significantly more than did the SP or control interventions . These findings suggest clinical ly significant benefits of actively treating JA and SP skills in young children with autism BACKGROUND Few studies have looked at the very long-term outcome of individuals with autism who were diagnosed in childhood . METHODS A longitudinal , prospect i ve , community-based follow-up study of adults who had received the diagnosis of autism ( classic and atypical ) in childhood ( n = 105 ) was conducted . A structured interview ( the Diagnostic Interview for Social and COmmunication disorders -- the DISCO ) was used in order to evaluate symptoms and symptom patterns 13 - 22 years after original diagnosis . Childhood measures , including IQ-level at time of childhood diagnosis and communicative speech registered before age 5 years , were studied in relation to the presence of autism symptoms at follow-up . RESULTS The classical and atypical autism groups were fairly homogeneously impaired in terms of symptoms in the social interaction category whereas other common childhood autism symptoms , including maladaptive and stereotyped behaviours , were more variable in the study group at follow-up . Odd responses to sensory stimuli were still extremely common . Speech before 5 years of age , IQ , gender , diagnosed medical disorder and onset of epilepsy before 5 years were variables that correlated to outcome on the DISCO algorithm for autistic spectrum disorders ( Wing & Gould , 1979 ) concerning style and quality of social interaction , communication style and pattern of self-chosen activities . CONCLUSIONS Social interaction problems were still present in the vast majority of adults with autism/atypical autism , but behavioural impairments were much more variable in adulthood . Almost all cases were reported to show persistent perceptual problems . Certain childhood measures were found to prospect ively predict adult social interaction style , communication type , and pattern of self-chosen activities , which still met diagnostic criteria for autism/atypical autism in adulthood OBJECTIVE : To conduct a r and omized , controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the Early Start Denver Model ( ESDM ) , a comprehensive developmental behavioral intervention , for improving outcomes of toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) . METHODS : Forty-eight children diagnosed with ASD between 18 and 30 months of age were r and omly assigned to 1 of 2 groups : ( 1 ) ESDM intervention , which is based on developmental and applied behavioral analytic principles and delivered by trained therapists and parents for 2 years ; or ( 2 ) referral to community providers for intervention commonly available in the community . RESULTS : Compared with children who received community-intervention , children who received ESDM showed significant improvements in IQ , adaptive behavior , and autism diagnosis . Two years after entering intervention , the ESDM group on average improved 17.6 st and ard score points ( 1 SD : 15 points ) compared with 7.0 points in the comparison group relative to baseline scores . The ESDM group maintained its rate of growth in adaptive behavior compared with a normative sample of typically developing children . In contrast , over the 2-year span , the comparison group showed greater delays in adaptive behavior . Children who received ESDM also were more likely to experience a change in diagnosis from autism to pervasive developmental disorder , not otherwise specified , than the comparison group . CONCLUSIONS : This is the first r and omized , controlled trial to demonstrate the efficacy of a comprehensive developmental behavioral intervention for toddlers with ASD for improving cognitive and adaptive behavior and reducing severity of ASD diagnosis . Results of this study underscore the importance of early detection of and intervention in autism Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills .  Reciprocal Imitation Training ( RIT ) , a naturalistic imitation intervention , was developed to teach young children with autism to imitate during play . This study used a r and omized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of RIT on elicited and spontaneous imitation skills in 21 young children with autism . Results found that children in the treatment group made significantly more gains in elicited and spontaneous imitation , replicating previous single-subject design studies . Number of spontaneous play acts at pre-treatment was related to improvements in imitation during the intervention , suggesting that children with a greater play repertoire make greater gains during RIT Early intervention has been reported to improve outcome in children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASDs ) . Several studies in the field have been r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) . The aim of this study was to assess ASD outcome in a large naturalistic study . Two hundred and eight children , aged 20 - 54 months , with a clinical diagnosis of ASD were given intervention and monitored prospect ively in a naturalistic fashion over a period of 2 years . The toddlers were considered representative of all but the most severely multiple disabled preschool children with ASD in Stockholm county . They fell into three cognitive subgroups : one with learning disability , one with developmental delay , and one with normal intellectual functioning . Data on intervention type and intensity were gathered prospect ively in a systematic fashion . Intervention was classified into intensive applied behaviour analysis ( ABA ) and non-intensive , targeted interventions , also based on ABA principles . Children were comprehensively assessed by a research team before the onset of intervention , and then , again , 2 years later . Change in Vinel and adaptive behaviour scales composite scores from intake ( T1 ) to leaving the study ( T2 ) was set as the primary outcome variable . The research team remained blind to the type and intensity of interventions provided . One hundred and ninety-eight ( 95 % ) of the original sample s stayed in the study throughout the whole 2-year period and 192 children had a complete Vinel and composite score results both at T1 and T2 . Vinel and composite scores increased over the 2-year period . This increase was accounted for by the subgroup with normal cognitive functioning . There was no significant difference between the intensive and non-intensive groups . Individual variation was considerable , but no child in the study was " problem-free " at follow-up . Our data do not support that children with ASD generally benefit more from the most intensive ABA intervention programs than from less intensive interventions or targeted interventions based on ABA Summary Background Results of small trials suggest that early interventions for social communication are effective for the treatment of autism in children . We therefore investigated the efficacy of such an intervention in a larger trial . Methods Children with core autism ( aged 2 years to 4 years and 11 months ) were r and omly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to a parent-mediated communication-focused ( Preschool Autism Communication Trial [ PACT ] ) intervention or treatment as usual at three specialist centres in the UK . Those assigned to PACT were also given treatment as usual . R and omisation was by use of minimisation of probability in the marginal distribution of treatment centre , age ( ≤42 months or > 42 months ) , and autism severity ( Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic [ ADOS-G ] algorithm score 12–17 or 18–24 ) . Primary outcome was severity of autism symptoms ( a total score of social communication algorithm items from ADOS-G , higher score indicating greater severity ) at 13 months . Complementary secondary outcomes were measures of parent-child interaction , child language , and adaptive functioning in school . Analysis was by intention to treat . This study is registered as an International St and ard R and omised Controlled Trial , number IS RCT N58133827 . Results 152 children were recruited . 77 were assigned to PACT ( London [ n=26 ] , Manchester [ n=26 ] , and Newcastle [ n=25 ] ) ; and 75 to treatment as usual ( London [ n=26 ] , Manchester [ n=26 ] , and Newcastle [ n=23 ] ) . At the 13-month endpoint , the severity of symptoms was reduced by 3·9 points ( SD 4·7 ) on the ADOS-G algorithm in the group assigned to PACT , and 2·9 ( 3·9 ) in the group assigned to treatment as usual , representing a between-group effect size of −0·24 ( 95 % CI −0·59 to 0·11 ) , after adjustment for centre , sex , socioeconomic status , age , and verbal and non-verbal abilities . Treatment effect was positive for parental synchronous response to child ( 1·22 , 0·85 to 1·59 ) , child initiations with parent ( 0·41 , 0·08 to 0·74 ) , and for parent-child shared attention ( 0·33 , −0·02 to 0·68 ) . Effects on directly assessed language and adaptive functioning in school were small . Interpretation On the basis of our findings , we can not recommend the addition of the PACT intervention to treatment as usual for the reduction of autism symptoms ; however , a clear benefit was noted for parent-child dyadic social communication . Funding UK Medical Research Council , and UK Department for Children , Schools and Families This study evaluated the effectiveness of low intensity behavioral treatment ( on average 6.5h per week ) supplementing preschool services in 3 - 6-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder and severe to mild intellectual disability . Treatment was implemented in preschools ( i.e. , daycare centers ) and a discrete trial teaching approach was used . Twelve children in the treatment group were compared to 22 children receiving regular intervention .  At pre-treatment , both groups did not differ on chronological age , developmental age , diagnosis and level of adaptive skills . Eight months into treatment , children receiving behavioral treatment displayed significantly higher developmental ages and made more gains in adaptive skills than children from the control group . No significant differences between groups were found on autistic symptom severity and emotional and behavioral problems 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 This study was design ed to evaluate 1 year of intensive treatment for 4- to 7-year-old children with autism . An independent clinician assigned children to either  behavioral treatment  ( n = 13 ) or eclectic treatment  ( n = 12 ) . Assignment was based on availability of personnel to supervise treatment and was not influenced by child characteristics or family preference . The two treatment groups received similar amounts of treatment ( M = 28.52 hours per week at the child ’s school ) . Children in the behavioral treatment group made significantly larger gains on st and ardized tests than did children in the eclectic treatment group . Results suggest that some 4- to 7-year-olds may make large gains with  intensive behavioral treatment  , that such treatment can be successfully implemented in school setting s , and that specific aspects of behavioral treatment ( not just its intensity ) may account for favorable outcomes 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 This r and omized controlled trial compared results obtained after 12 months of nonintensive parent training plus care-as-usual and care-as-usual alone . The training focused on stimulating joint attention and language skills and was based on the intervention described by Drew et al. ( Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatr 11:266–272 , 2002 ) . Seventy-five toddlers with autism spectrum disorder ( 65 autism , 10 PDD-NOS , mean age = 34.4 months , SD = 6.2 ) were enrolled . Analyses were conducted on a final sample of 67 children ( lost to follow-up = 8) . No significant intervention effects were found for any of the primary ( language ) , secondary ( global clinical improvement ) , or mediating ( child engagement , early precursors of social communication , or parental skills ) outcome variables , suggesting that the ‘ Focus parent training ’ was not of additional value to the more general care-as-usual This article evaluates the effectiveness of a developmentally based early intervention programme .  Two groups of children were compared , a  treatment group and a no-treatment control group .  St and ardized assessment s were administered before and after the intervention period by an independent clinician . Pre-treatment comparisons revealed that the control group had a significantly higher pre-treatment IQ ; but the two groups were comparable for age , mental age , socioeconomic status and number of hours of non-experimental therapy . Results demonstrated that children in the treatment group improved significantly more than those in the control group on measures of joint attention , social interaction , imitation , daily living skills , motor skills and an adaptive behaviour composite . A measure of requesting behaviour fell short of statistical significance . The total stress index reduced for treatment group parents and increased for the control group parents ( but not significantly ) . The results of the study are considered to support the efficacy of this treatment approach Data from Norway were analyzed to evaluate early behavioral intervention for children with intellectual disabilities . The intervention group ( n = 11 ) received approximately 10 hours per week of behavioral intervention ; the eclectic comparison group ( n = 14 )  received treatment as usual . After 1 year , changes in intelligence and adaptive behavior scores were statistically significant in favor of the behavioral intervention group ( effect sizes of 1.13 for Intelligence quotient ( IQ ) change and .95 for change in adaptive behavior composite ) . Approximately 64 % of the children in the behavioral intervention group met objective criteria for reliable change in IQ , whereas 14 % in the eclectic comparison group did so . These results suggest that children with intellectual disability may profit from behavioral intervention typically provided for children with autism
target: Results are comparable with several other studies with a similar or slightly higher therapeutic intensity implementing comparable or different early intervention methods or programs .
  Compared to most high-intensity programs ( 30–40 h/week ) , lower cognitive gains were observed .
background: Different early intervention programs , developed predominantly in the US , for preschool aged children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) have been published .
  Several systematic review articles including a German Health Technology Assessment on behavioural and skill-based early interventions in children with ASD reported insufficient evidence and a substantial problem of generalisability to the German context .
  In Germany , approx .
  2–5 h early intervention is supported by social services .