From Someone Who May Cause Trouble to Someone You Can Play With: Stakeholders' Perspectives on Preschool Program Quality for Autistic Children

In Sweden, young autistic children typically attend community-based preschool programs, which may not be adapted to their needs. In the current study, stakeholders to autistic children receiving Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention were interviewed following a quasi-randomized study (#NCT03634761) aimed at improving the preschool program quality using the Swedish version of the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale (APERS). Stakeholders provided their perceptions and experiences concerning key factors for high quality preschool programs as well as well as their experiences of the abovementioned APERS study. Applying thematic analysis, stakeholder groups differed in what they emphasized, but all highlighted staff’s competence, children’s inclusion and participation, collaboration, and the learning environment as key program areas that had been positively influenced by the APERS-based intervention.

Educational Outcomes of a Cohort of Children With Autism Who Received Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention

Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) can be effective for supporting skill acquisition among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Few studies have followed children with ASD, who received EIBI, into schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate educational outcomes specific to instructional placement, standardized test proficiency, and special education eligibility under the ASD category for children who received EIBI. Medicaid records were utilized to create a cross-systems data set of 3- to 5-year-old children with ASD ( n = 667). Most students were placed in general education and males and White students were more likely to receive special education services for ASD. Only half of the students participated in standardized testing and met proficiency standards. Implications for future research and advocacy for early intervention are discussed.

Changes in Autistic Symptoms and Adaptive Functioning of Children Receiving Early Behavioral Intervention in a Community Setting: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis

Despite showing robust effects in well-controlled studies, the extent to which early intensive behavioral intervention produces positive changes in naturalistic, community-based settings remains uncertain. Thus, our study examined changes in autistic symptoms and adaptive functioning in 233 children in children with autism receiving early behavioral intervention in a community setting. The results revealed nonlinear changes in adaptive functioning characterized by significant improvements during the intervention period and a small linear decrease in autistic symptoms from baseline to follow-up. The intensity of intervention, age at enrolment, IQ and autistic symptoms were associated either with progress during the intervention period or maintenance during the follow-up period. Taken together, these results underline the importance of conducting further replications in community settings.