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Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the prevalence of autism in the U.S. is about 9 per 1000 children. Identifying the disorder in children as young as 18 months opens the way for early interventions.
These researchers randomized 48 children (age range, 18–30 months) to the newly manualized therapy Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) or to usual community services. ESDM expands upon applied behavioral analysis — which uses operant conditioning and shaping — to include interpersonal training. Diagnostic, IQ, learning, and adaptive assessments were performed at baseline and at 1 and 2 years. Evaluators were blinded at baseline and at all follow-ups.
Treatment groups were stratified by severity and sex (boy:g…