Efficacy of Focused Social and Communication Intervention Practices for Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Bejarano-Martín, Á., Canal-Bedia, R., et al. (2020).
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 430-445.
This meta-analysis investigates focused social and communication interventions in children, 6 years old or younger, on the autism spectrum. Focused intervention practices aim to teach children on the autism spectrum specific skills, such as social-communication skills, in a short time period of a few months.
Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes; European Union; SpanishMinistry of Education, Culture and Sport
<p>The data in this systematic review are included in another document which can be found in the Associated Article section below. </p>
January 2000 to July 2018
Peer-reviewed, empirical studies
43
For group-designed studies, a meta-analysis of focused intervention practices (FIPs) demonstrated a medium overall effect size (g= 0.51, 95% CI [0.37, 0.65]) which suggested that FIPs yield promising results on improving social communication skills. FIPs also had a significant, moderate effect on joint attention (g=0.55), play (g= 0.47) and imitation skills (g= 0.43).
Although treatment dosage was reported to have a positive impact on the effects of focused social communication interventions, results were not statistically significant. Results indicated statistically significant effects of intervention when, in addition to the therapist, parents, caregivers, or teachers participated in the intervention (g= 0.50); therefore, results support the active involvement of parents, caregivers, and/or teachers in focused social communication interventions.
