Shayla Bingham
6th Period
Annotated Bibliography
Braiden, Hannah Jane, et al. “A Practice-Based Evaluation Of Barnardo’s Forward Steps
Early Intervention Programme For Children Diagnosed With Autism.” Child Care In
Practice 18.3 (2012): 227-242. ERIC. Web. 30 Nov 2014.
A study was conducted to evaluate a TEACCH-based Early Intervention Program by used
pre and post-experimental data to determine results. Thirty-one parents took a Parenting
Stress Index. TEACCH believes there are three main factors that cause parents of Autistic
children to become stressed. These factors are: discipline, managing behavior in public
places, and extreme behaviors. These parents have two times higher chance of divorce
than the parents of children with other disabilities. Mothers have reported that when their
child is acting up the receive less support from their husband. There is no universal answer
for the most successful methods to be used in intervention programs, however each
program is dedicated to improving the social, cognitive, adaptive, and academic levels of the
child. These facilities are also dedicated to lessening the effects of stress on the parents and
family and repetitive behaviors of the child.
Corsello, Christina. “Early Intervention in Autism.” Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Volume 18 (2005); 74-85. Web. 14 November 2014.
According to Christina Corsello, a wide range of studies show that early intervention
programs lead to greater outcomes. Autism specific disorders found among children are as
high as 66 out of 10,000 kids. She states that research has shown that kids who enter
intervention programs before 48 months old have better progress than those who begin
programs in preschool and kindergarten. The younger the child is admitted into a program,
the more improvement they will have. Corsello confidently says that different ideas and
methods of intervention have evolved into three major areas of treatment. These areas are
cognitive intervention, developmental intervention, and behavioral intervention. Because
someone cannot be “cured” from Autism, it can be hard to measure improvement. Corsello
says that there are more effective ways of working with these children than others, however,
there is not one program more successful than another.
Dawson G, Jones. “Early Intervention Program Alters Brain Activity in Children with
Autism.” Academic Child Adolescent Psychiatry (2012); Autism Speaks. Web. 24
November 2014.
Autism specific psychologists Sally Rogers and Geraldine Dawson, Ph. D. introduced the
ESDM therapy program that benefits toddlers (ages 18-30 months) with Autism. This
program focuses closely on the interactive play between toddlers, parents, and therapists.
They were interested to see if intervention programs simply improve symptoms of Autism of
can alter the actual brain functioning biology in a positive way. For their study, these
psychologists assigned 48 toddlers with about twenty hours of individual therapy a week, for
two years. The results showed that the children involved with the program showed
progression in language, IQ, eye contact, social communication, and adaptive behavior
techniques. The children in this program also showed a greater response to social
information, compared to those being instructed outside this program. These children show a
greater response when viewing faces, rather than objects. The opposite of these results are
typical for Autistic children in mainstream community programs. Overall, their results showed
that early intervention programs promote attention to faces, people, and other social clues
that would not normally be acquired.
Hume, Kara. “The Usage And Perceived Outcomes Of Early Intervention And Early
Childhood Programs For Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Topics In
Early Childhood Special Education 25.4 (2005); 195-207. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
This early intervention, Autism specific study researched the effects of certain types of early
intervention methods. Most all of the methods currently used in these programs are very
effective, and there is not one particular method that is more successful than another. Rather;
the severity of the disorder, hours of intervention, quality of the program, family income,
parental involvement should be considered above the success of a single method. An
example of an effective strategy used in early intervention programs is floortime. There have
been many positive outcomes such as improved engagement, problem solving skills, and
intentional communication. Integration of Autistic students with other mainstream children
their same age has been another method having extremely positive results. These children
gain better social, emotional, and speech development as well as having more opportunities
for typical social interactions. Parent training is another development that has shown major
positive changes in the child’s overall outcomes.
Kasari, Connie. “Assessing Change in Early Intervention Programs for Children with
Autism.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Vol. 32 (2002); Web. 29 Nov
2014.
This study discusses the cause behind successful dramatic changes in Autistic children
involved with early intervention programs. It is often very difficult to measure the progression
of these students, however this study shows that by comparing the student to themselves
when they began the program or other Autistic students on the same level in other programs
is often the best way to supervise the progression. Another thing that critical for progression
is that the therapist has direction and personal goals they are trying to work their student
towards. It can be extremely helpful to use fidelity checks analyzing the treatments. These
checks gauge the intended results of the methods being used. Random assignment of
observing teachers is pivotal because the observer has no bias.
Landa, Rebecca. “Early Communication Development And Intervention For Children With
Autism.” Mental Retardation And Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews 13.1
(2007): 16-25. ERIC. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
The author Landa, discusses the fact that our language plays a big role in other parts of our
development. Therefore, it should be one of the first issues to be addressed in an early
intervention program. Studies have shown that Autism can be diagnosed at a very young
age, and the child should be entered into these interventions as soon as possible after being
diagnosed with ASD. The author clearly states the ideal communication skills will in turn
reduce the maladaptive behaviors and social impairments. Early intervention instructors as
well as the parents should work very closely to set goals and stepping stones for the student
to reach a place where they are able to overcome their social and academic setbacks.
Structured play has often been linked to progression in expressive language functions.
Therapists should conduct play time with symbolism and teaching opportunities that will
enhance the language learning process.
Medhurst, Belinda, and Daisy Clay. “The Thomas Outreach Project (TOP): An Early Years
Intervention for Children with and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Educational
Psychology In Practice 24.1 (2008): 69-78. ERIC. Web. 1 Dec 2014.
The Thomas Outreach Project is focused on attaining measurable goals for students with
Autism Spectrum disorder. They take an individualized approach to these students by play
time called “special time.” This approach offers the child more specific help on the things the
struggle with. Play time or floor time has shown major improvements in social aspects.
Some of the key points that make an intervention program successful are: family
involvement, intensity, routine, content of the curriculum, and a functional approach to
behavioral problems. The curriculum focuses on five skills: attention, imitation, language,
play, and social interaction. Parent involvement with the child is vital, being that the parent
knows the child and spends the most time with them. It is recommended that a minimum of
15 hours a week should be spent focusing on these areas of development.
Rivard, MelinaForget, Jacques. “Verbal Behavior In Young Children With Autism Spectrum
Disorders At The Onset Of An Early Behavioral Intervention Program.” Psychological
Record 62.2 (2012): 165-186. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 24
Nov. 2014.
This study was performed with the intent to study the verbal communication patterns of
fourteen different 0-3 year olds with Autism. Those involved with this program had three
main objectives they hoped to address. The first was to observe the frequencies of verbal
and vocal behaviors. The second was to study the correlation between the child’s behavior
and ability to function. The last objective was to determine the effect the EBI (early behavior
intervention) therapist had on the child. The majority of results showed that the therapist had
a positive impact on the child’s behavior 65% of the time. The other 35% was either
concluded as a negative or no attention. Because it is common for kids with Autism to
progress with speech at different speeds, this program uses a one on one program (one
therapist to one student) to adequately access the child’s individual learning pace and
needs.
Solomon, Richard. “PLAY Project Home Consultation Intervention Program for Young
Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Journal
of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. Volume 35 (2014): pages 475-485.
Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
The objective of this particular study was to determine the performance of the Play and
Language for Autistic Youngsters (PLAY) Project. The goal of project play is to develop
individualized plan for kids and to educate parents and family how to cope with and help
their child succeed. A PLAY consultant makes monthly visits to a home and takes a 15
minute video to be analyzed after. Because this type of intervention plan requires more
demand from the caregivers. This program is focused on addressing functional development
and social reciprocity. For this study the consultants went to homes for 12 visits and
instructed the parents on how to improve the parent-child interaction as well as techniques
to assist with speech and occupational therapy. Children involved in these studies showed
improvement in their functional development, however their language did not improve by
much. The parents doing the program were pleased with the program and the educational
knowledge they gained. And their stress and depression levels stayed, rather than
increasing.
Stahmer, Aubyn C., and Brooke Ingersoll. “Inclusive Programming For Toddlers With
Autism Spectrum Disorders: Outcomes From The Children’s Toddler School.”
Journal Of Positive Behavior Interventions 6.2 (2004): 67-82. ERIC. Web. 1 Dec 2014.
It has been universally accepted that early intervention programs are beneficial to toddlers
(0-3 in age). However, it has not been determined which kind of environment is the most
profitable. Whether it is at a facility, in the home, or integrated into classrooms with other
mainstream preschoolers. Stahmer did a study to determine the success of kids under the
age of three that were in with the mainstream classes. Major improvements in functional
behavior skills were detected as the kids were tested before and after entering the
integration program. 50% of the students had no verbal communication skills upon entering
the program, and 90% left fully able to function verbally. While the integration programs
show extreme success in the verbal aspect, there are major increases in social and
imaginary play abilities.
Wetherby, Amy M., and Juliann J. Woods. “Early Social Interaction Project for Children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders Beginning In The Second Year Of Life: A Preliminary
Study.” Topics In Early Childhood Special Education 26.2 (2006): 67-82. ERIC. Web. 30
Nov. 2014.
The ESI (early social interaction) program is for young toddlers with Autism. This intervention
is used by parent-implemented help that is a way for parents to teach in a natural way. This
study allows parents to incorporate techniques to improve social communication in an
everyday routine that is a more natural way of learning to the kids. The study performed
involved 17 children with Autism spectrum disorders who had began the use of parentimplemented intervention at the age of two years in contrast with other Autistic children who
began a more mainstream intervention when they were three years old. The results indicated
that the children involved in the ESI program improved dramatically in social aspects. This
article states that the more time invested in intervention, the better the results. They
recommend it five hours daily, and on a one on one basis for the best outcome.
Wong, Virginia C. N., and Queenie K Kwan. “Randomized Controlled Trial For Early
Intervention For Autism: A Pilot Study Of The Autism 1-2-3 Project.” Journal Of
Autism & Developmental Disorders 40.6 (2010): 677-688. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
This article talks about a two-week program for children recently diagnosed with Autism and
their parents. This program targeted three specific areas needing improvement: eye contact,
gesture, and vocalization/ using words. After the two week period the success of the
outcome was measured by tests such as the Symbolic Play Test, Parenting Stress index,
and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. The authors states that the primary purpose
of this short program was to see if the intervention based on those three specific areas
would help the kids grow in areas of communication and social interaction. The other main
purpose of this program was to see if parent involvement with therapy lowers stress levels. It
has been shown that most parents of Autistic children experience higher anxiety and stress
levels. The 1-2-3 project was successful in all aspects of increasing the child’s abilities and
helping parents cope with stress.