Home Based Program for Autistic Toddlers Shows Promise

By Rachel Stockton

A home based program for autistic children that emphasizes play has produced greater results than community based programs, according to the online journal Pediatrics.  Researchers who worked with a group of 48 children from 18-30 months old found that at the end of two years, toddlers who participated in the program had higher IQs and showed significant improvement in overall language and social interaction skills.

Dr. Geraldine Dawson, science officer for Autism Speaks led a team of researchers while she was a professor of psychology and the director of the University of Washington Autism Center.  The parents of the children who took part in the study were trained in the same skills as the therapists involved in the program.  The children spent 20 hours a week with a therapist, in addition to learning at home.

After two years, the IQs of the children rose an average of 18 points, compared to an increase of 7 points in those who took part in a community based program. 

Twenty years ago, it was discovered that early intervention programs had a positive affect on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs); more than ½ of those in such programs were able to be mainstreamed into regular classrooms when they were older.

ASD afflicts at least 1 in 150 children in the US; it is marked by impairment in social and communication skills.  In an earlier interview with WebMd, Dr. Dawson emphasizes the fact that those with autism are constantly trying to make sense of a world that is chaotic and confusing.  When most people walk into a room, they “size up” what’s going on with the people in the room, then attempt to find their place in it.  Those with autism are distracted by minutia that is unimportant, such as noises outside or visual disturbances in the room.

Many times, according to Dr. Dawson, the behavior exhibited by those with ASD is an attempt to gain control over a “baffling universe.”