Purpose: Sentence diversity is a measure of early language development that has yet to be applied to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The primary aim of this study was to identify whether children with ASD show change in sentence diversity over 6 months of treatment with Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI).…

Despite the expansion of early intervention approaches for young children with ASD, investigators have struggled to identify measures capable of assessing social communication change in response to these interventions. Addressing recent calls for efficient, sensitive, and reliable social communication measures, the current paper outlines the…

Effective strategies to address communication and behavior challenges are critical in early intervention programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on vocal mands and aggressive behavior displayed by a child with autism in China. One 4-year-old boy with autism participated…

Purpose: Early Achievements for Education Settings (EA-ES) is a teacher-implemented naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) targeting core social communication impairments. The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) was to examine promise of efficacy of this…

Autism spectrum disorders are lifelong conditions that affect children's social and communication skills. Dual diagnoses pose additional challenges mainly because of the difficulties that come with making accurate decisions. It is intriguing to note that children with hearing impairments are more likely to have autism as opposed to members of the…

Recent interest in gesture has led to an understanding of the development of gesture and speech in typically developing young children. Research suggests that initially gesture and speech form two independent systems which combine together temporally and semantically before children enter the two-word period of language development. However,…

This paper analyzes autism as a contingency-shaped disorder of verbal behavior. Contingencies of reinforcement in effect during the first to third year of a child's life may operate to establish and maintain those behaviors that later result in a diagnosis of autism. While neurobiological variables may, in some cases, predispose some children to…

This article presents a developmental perspective on language acquisition that can serve as a framework for understanding and treating the language and communication challenges faced by children with autism. Profiles of five children (ages 3-7) with autism spectrum disorders are discussed to illustrate the application of a Developmental…

This article evaluates three early intervention approaches--applied behavior analysis, TEAACH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children), a structured classroom-based program, and relationship therapy/"floor time"--to identify which aspects of each approach complement individual learning styles…

This paper presents a response to five commentaries on our article "An Analysis of Autism as a Contingency-Shaped Disorder of Verbal Behavior" (Drash & Tudor, 2004). One of the principal objectives of that article is to provide the behavior analysis community and the autism community with a conceptual basis for analyzing autism as a behavioral…

Forty-nine 2 years olds with social and language characteristics suggestive of autism were identified by community professionals and screening tools, then given a diagnostic assessment and reexamined at age 4 1/2. Agreement between autism clinic and screenings was high, with 88% receiving a diagnosis on the autism spectrum. The children were lower…

For many of the children who are blind and who also display features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) it is possible that their characteristics, while being representative of ASD, actually follow a different pathway to those children who have ASD and are sighted. It is proposed that these children should be viewed as having specific features…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…

A collection of papers on the Australian experience with early intervention for children with disabilities gives regional overviews, describes specific intervention programs, and discusses a variety of issues. Overviews are given of early intervention in Australia in general, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western…

This book reviews research on the effectiveness of early intervention for children with disabilities or who are at risk. Program factors for children at risk and with disabilities, the effects of early intervention on different types of disabilities, and the outcomes of early intervention are explored. Chapters include: "Second-Generation Research…