Naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention is an emerging class of interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder. The present article is a meta-analysis of outcomes of group-design studies (n = 27) testing interventions using naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention strategies. Small, significant positive effects…

In contrast to Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), there are far fewer meta-analyses evaluating Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) (Schreibman et al., 2015). Indeed, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)--a prominent NDBI--lacks meta-analytic studies. In the context of developing a line of research on the…

This community effectiveness trial examined the feasibility and efficacy of a comprehensive psychosocial treatment for 28 children, aged 7 to 10 years with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs). Treatment included instruction and therapeutic activities targeting social skills, face-emotion recognition skills, interest expansion, and…

This study used propensity score techniques on data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 to assess the causal relationship between speech and behavior-based support services and rates of social communication among high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Findings indicate that receptive language problems were…

We reviewed communication intervention studies involving people with Rett syndrome. Systematic searches of five electronic databases, selected journals, and reference lists identified nine studies meeting the inclusion criteria. These studies were evaluated in terms of: (a) participant characteristics, (b) target skills, (c) procedures, (d) main…

Background: The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) increases the need for evidence-based behavioral treatments to lessen the impact of symptoms on children's functioning. At present, there are no curative or psychopharmacological therapies to effectively treat all symptoms of the disorder. Early intensive behavioral intervention…

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,…

Two experiments, with about five autistic children (two to 14 years old) in each experiment, assessed the effects of autistic immediate echolalia on acquisition and generalization of receptive labeling tasks. These results indicated that echolalia faciliated generalization for echolalic autistic children but not for functionally mute autistic…

Designed for practicing speech-language pathologists, this book discusses different lesser-known syndrome disabilities, pertinent speech-language characteristics, and goals and strategies to begin intervention efforts at a preschool level. Chapters address: (1) Apert syndrome; (2) Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome; (3) CHARGE syndrome; (4) Cri-du-Chat…

The monograph describes a systematic attempt to develop language behavior in a nonverbal autistic 4.5-year-old boy who was essentially unresponsive to environmental stimuli of any kind. The 45-session intervention focused on teaching him to attend, increasing his responsiveness to people, effecting discriminative responses to a variety of…

The article describes language development techniques used with a 5-year-old autistic boy to increase his verbal behavior. Intervention consisted of 1.5 hour sessions four times a week over an 8-month period. The intervention focused on increasing nonvocal imitation, vocal imitation, verbal labeling, and verbal discrimination. Development of…

The two part presentation presents information on specific conditions of developmental delay and suggests intervention approaches. Three causes of mental retardation (Down's syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and cerebral palsy) are identified and described in terms of definition, incidence, characteristics, and educational implications. Part II is…

Designed for practicing speech-language pathologists, this book discusses different syndrome disabilities, pertinent speech-language characteristics, and goals and strategies to begin intervention efforts at a preschool level. Chapters address: (1) Angelman syndrome; (2) Asperger syndrome; (3) Down syndrome; (4) fetal alcohol syndrome; (5) fetal…