Effectiveness of a novel community-based early intervention model for children with autistic spectrum disorder

The Nova Scotia early intensive behavior intervention model -NS EIBI ( Bryson et al., 2007 ) for children with autistic spectrum disorders was designed to be feasible and sustainable in community settings. It combines parent training and naturalistic one-to-one behavior intervention employing Pivotal Response Treatment - PRT (R. Koegel & Koegel, 2006 ). We followed 45 children (33 males, mean baseline age = 50 months) for 12months. Mean gains of 14.9 and 19.5 months were observed on expressive and receptive language measures, respectively, for children with an IQ of 50 or more at baseline versus 6.1 and 8.4 months for children with IQs less than 50. Behavior problems decreased significantly over the 1-year treatment for both groups, but autism symptoms decreased only for those with an IQ of 50 or more.