Background: Children living in poverty often are exposed to situations that negatively affect various aspects of their development. So, it is important to propose interventional programs that minimize the negative effects of living in poverty on these children. Objective: To verify the impact of a mastery climate cognitive-motor skills…

This study explores the cognitive development of children born to adolescent mothers within South Africa compared to existing reference data, and explores development by child age bands to examine relative levels of development. Cross-sectional analyses present data from 954 adolescents (10-19 years) and their first-born children (0-68 months).…

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of persistent language and literacy difficulties. This study investigated the effectiveness of an 8-week parent-implemented shared book reading intervention designed to change parent and child book reading behaviours. Sixteen parents and their preschoolers on the autism…

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder share key elements. However, the extent of similarity and overlap in techniques among naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention models has not been quantified, and there is no standardized measure for assessing the implementation of their…

Background and aims: The quality of parent verbal input--diverse vocabulary that is well-matched to the child's developmental level within interactions that are responsive to their interests--has been found to positively impact child language skills. For typically developing (TD) children, there is evidence that more advanced linguistic and social…

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of enhanced milieu teaching (EMT) on caregiver implementation of language support strategies and child communication skills using a hybrid telepractice service delivery model. Method: Four caregivers and children with language delays aged 18-27 months participated in a multiple baseline across behaviors…

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component communication intervention on social communication for young children with autism. As many as half of children with autism are not yet talking by age 3, and up to a third of children with autism will remain minimally verbal past age 5. Spoken language outcomes are…

Early math instruction is the subject of increasing attention by early childhood researchers. There is evidence to suggest that early math skills are highly predictive of later academic achievement but that there are disparities in early math skills among young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a systematic…

The Early Start Denver Model is an evidence-based, comprehensive naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention. Randomized controlled studies indicate that long-term, high-intensity Early Start Denver Model in home-based settings can positively impact the clinical outcomes of young children with autism spectrum disorder. However, it is…

This study's objective was to assess maintenance of treatment effects 3 months after completion of a 12-week Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) parent education group. Families who completed the active treatment (N = 23) were followed for an additional 12 weeks to measure changes in language and cognitive skills. Results indicated a significant…

Despite evidence suggesting one of the earliest indicators of an eventual autism spectrum disorder diagnoses is an early motor delay, there remain very few interventions targeting motor behavior as the primary outcome for young children with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of this pilot study was to measure the efficacy of an intensive motor…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to receive several related services during their early school years. In this study, we followed 70 preschoolers with ASD and used parent reports to document the intensity of these services over a 4-year period, in relation to children's outcomes in three domains. While behavioral difficulties…

This study aimed to better understand predictors of evidence-based assessment practices for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Nationwide, 402 school psychologists were surveyed for their knowledge of and training and experience with ASD on assessment practices, including reported areas of training needs. The majority of school psychologists reported…

Rates of participation in intervention research have not been extensively studied within autism spectrum disorder. Such research is important given the benefit of early intervention on long-term prognosis for children with autism spectrum disorder. The goals of this study were to examine how family demographic factors predicted treatment…

The field of early autism research is in dire need of outcome measures that adequately reflect subtle changes in core autistic behaviors. This article compares the ability of a newly developed measure, the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC), and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to detect changes in core…