A new, home-based program for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that combines behavioral change techniques in a playful environment boosted the children's IQ, language ability, and social interaction skills more than a community-based program, according to a new study.
The home-based program included up to 20 hours a week of therapist intervention, plus the intervention of parents, who were taught the same skills.
''This intervention is designed to be appropriate for children as young as 12 months of age," says study researcher Geraldine Dawson, PhD, chief science officer of Autism Speaks, a science and advocacy organization. She conducted the research while a professor of psychology and director of the University of Washington's Autism Center, Seattle.
''We found that after two years the children who received the intervention had made significant gains in their IQ, their language ability, their adaptive behavior, and their social interaction," Dawson tells WebMD.
The IQ of children in the new home-based program -- called the Early Start Denver Model -- rose on average about 18 points after two years, she says. The IQ of the children in the community-based comparison group increased seven points.
''When you see an IQ gain that is this large, the child is much more likely to be able to enter a regular classroom and develop friendships," Dawson says.
The study is published online in the journal Pediatrics.
Intervention in Young Children
Early intervention for children with autism, a developmental disorder estimated to affect one in 150 or more U.S. children, has been evaluated for years. More than 20 years ago, a report of early behavioral intervention found that nearly half the children given the intervention could be mainstreamed into regular classrooms and had IQ gains.
But experts still disagree about whether early intervention makes a long-term difference in autism, which is marked by impairments in communication and socialization, and repetitive, disruptive behavior.
The new study is believed to be the first scientific study that looked at intervening in children so young. "Our entire group was under 2 and a half," says Sally Rogers, PhD, professor of psychiatry, University of California Davis MIND Institute, who developed the intervention with Dawson.
The intervention combines an established approach known as applied behavioral analysis (teaching children new behaviors and changing harmful ones by repetition and practice) with relationship-based techniques presented in a playful manner that interests the child. "When you are working with very young children, it makes sense you would use a more play-based approach," Dawson says.
For instance, a session might include playing with balls, with the therapist tossing them into a bucket, repeating the word ball, and inviting the child to mimic her.
The researchers evaluated 48 children diagnosed with ASD at 18-30 months old, randomly assigning them to the intervention group or referring them to community-based programs. The children had either autistic disorder or pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD NOS), a milder condition in which some features of autism are identified. At the end, two years later, just three had dropped out of the study.
The goal was to tap into the so-called ''plasticity'' of the young brain and capitalize on the learning potential of the children, thus limiting the damaging effects of autism.
Those in the early-start model averaged about 15.2 hours a week with the therapist, although 20 were made available. Parents logged, on average, another 16.3 hours a week and the kids got about 5.2 hours in other therapies, such as speech therapy.
Children in the comparison group got an average of 9.1 hours of individual therapy and 9.3 hours weekly of group interventions. continue>>>