Interventions for Young Children With Autism: A Synthesis of the Literature
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
Levy, S., Kim, A. -H., et al. (2006).
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 21(1), 55-62.
This review investigates the effectiveness of autism intervention programs (e.g., speech and language treatments, parent-focused interventions) for children, 3-8 years old, on the autism spectrum.
U.S. Department of Education
1975 to April 2001
Published treatment/comparison design studies; single-group design studies
24
Children on the autism spectrum "appear to be more likely to benefit from interventions that are initiated at an early age, that are intensive and long lasting (at least 1 year), that target various developmental areas [e.g., language, cognition, behavior management, social skills], and that include parents, who can facilitate the generalization process of learned skills" (p. 60).
<p>"Based on the results of this synthesis, the following features of interventions examined had positive effects ...:</p>
<ul>
<li>parent involvement,</li>
<li>intensive behavioral intervention,</li>
<li>multicomponent early intervention [focusing on language, social-emotional skills, cognition, and behavior],</li>
<li>language/speech treatment, and</li>
<li>imitative interaction procedure</li>
</ul>
<p>These effects were shown across different durations of interventions and categories of measurements. When examined closely, four aspects show consistent positive effects across contexts:</p>
<ul>
<li>parental involvement,</li>
<li>intensive behavioral therapy,</li>
<li>multicomponent interventions,</li>
<li>duration of interventions (p. 59).</li>
</ul>
