Date Approved

5-6-2003

Embargo Period

5-2-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in School Psychology

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Klanderman, John

Committee Member 1

Dihoff, Roberta

Subject(s)

Autistic children--Education; Early childhood education; Infants

Disciplines

Educational Psychology

Abstract

The archival data regarding 20 children who received early intervention services from a child development center in southern New Jersey were reviewed. Each child in the study was aged 0 to 2 years, had a disorder of the autistic spectrum, and was provided treatment in the form of ABA, PECS, floor-time, or a combination of interventions. Because research on ASD and its treatment has not yet focused on children under the age of 3, the purpose of this study was to investigate which methodology of intervention is most feasible for such young children. Additional aims of the study were to examine how intensity of service delivery and severity of disorder related to treatment outcome. Statistical analyses revealed that, regardless of treatment methodology, early intervention on the whole produced significant developmental gains in the domains of cognition, gross motor, fine motor, communication, social emotion, and self-help. Additionally, the number of hours of treatment services provided per week had a significant effect on treatment outcome. Lastly, severity of disorder was found to be negatively correlated with the developmental progress made in the domain of communication.

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