Comprehensive Autism Program using Strategies for Teaching based on Autism Research

Researchers in this study are evaluating the Comprehensive Autism Program Using Strategies for Teaching Based on Autism Research, which is a comprehensive program for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders. The program is intended to improve language, pre-academic skills, social skills, adaptive behavior, and cognitive skills for children with autism spectrum disorders. The intervention incorporates multiple recommended strategies and approaches for teaching young children with autism spectrum disorders, but rigorous evidence of the efficacy of the entire program is limited. The intervention will be compared to a typical classroom service model serving young children with autism spectrum disorders. The researchers are including key outcomes related to the learning and development of young children with autism spectrum disorders and exploring factors that may mediate and moderate outcomes. The researchers will also be examining key outcomes for children after one and two years of the intervention.

Project Activities. Approximately 300 children with autism spectrum disorders ages 2–5 will participate in the study. Recruitment will take place in 120 classrooms or programs (minimum of 5 students per classroom). In Year 1, the first cohort of classrooms will be randomly assigned to either the Comprehensive Autism Program Using Strategies for Teaching Based on Autism Research or typical classroom service model. In Year 2, the second cohort of classrooms will be randomly assigned to the intervention or typical service model. Outcomes of interest include children's pre-academic, language, cognitive, and adaptive behavior skills. A cluster randomized design with repeated measures will be used to evaluate the treatment models after one and two years of participation in the intervention.

Comprehensive Autism Program Using Strategies for Teaching Based on Autism Research is a fully developed, manualized program for children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 2 and 5 years. A curriculum based assessment tool is used to individually design a child's program based on his or her current strengths and learning needs. The program uses discrete trial training and pivotal response training as teaching strategies for curriculum content related to language, pre-academic skills and social skills as well as functional routines to build adaptive skills. Another component of the intervention is training parents to use naturalistic teaching strategies and applied behavior analysis strategies to support the generalization of skills at home and in the community. The intervention combines instruction in one-to-one, group, and family settings.