The Effects of Early Intervention on Social Communication Outcomes for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-analysis

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 50; no. 5; pp. 1683 - 1700
• Main Authors: Fuller, Elizabeth A., Kaiser, Ann P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2020; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Age; Age differences; Applied Behavior Analysis; Attention; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - diagnosis; Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology; Autism Spectrum Disorder - therapy; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic children; Behavior Problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Care and treatment; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Communication; Communication Skills; Control Groups; Early Intervention; Early Intervention, Educational - methods; Effect Size; Expressive Language; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Communication; Interpersonal Relationship; Language Usage; Literature reviews; Male; Meta Analysis; Neurosciences; Nonverbal Communication; Oral Language; Original Paper; Outcome Measures; Outcomes of Treatment; Participant Characteristics; Patient outcomes; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychological Patterns; Psychology; Public Health; Research Design; School Policy; Social Behavior; Social Skills; Social skills in children; Student Placement; Systematic review; Training; Young Children; United States; Autism spectrum disorders; Early intervention; Social communication; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-03927-z

This meta-analysis examined the effects of early interventions on social communication outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorder. A systematic review of the literature included 1442 children (mean age 3.55 years) across 29 studies. The overall effect size of intervention on social communication outcomes was significant ( g  = 0.36). The age of the participants was related to the treatment effect size on social communication outcomes, with maximum benefits occurring at age 3.81 years. Results did not differ significantly depending on the person implementing the intervention. However, significantly larger effect sizes were observed in studies with context-bound outcome measures. The findings of this meta-analysis highlight the need for further research examining specific components of interventions associated with greater and more generalized gains.