Effective Intervention Program features
Interventions Supported by Research
Examples of Therapeutic Intervention Programs
Other Models of Intervention
Goals for Educational Services
Key Points and Next Steps

Effective Intervention Program features

Across primarily preschool programs, there is a very strong consensus that the following features are critical to an effective intervention program:

1. Entry into intervention programs as soon as an autism spectrum diagnosis is seriously considered. This means that intervention must not wait on the assessment, especially when assessment may take more than a few months to complete.
2. Active participation in intensive instructional programming for a minimum of a full school day, 5 days (at least 25 hours) a week. The child must receive an educational program that is systematically planned, and developmentally appropriate. What constitutes these hours, however, will vary according to a child's chronological age, developmental level, specific strengths and weaknesses, and family needs. Each child must receive sufficient individualized attention on a daily basis so that adequate implementation of objectives can be carried out effectively. Priorities of focus should include functional spontaneous communication, social instruction delivered throughout the day in various settings, cognitive development and play skills, and proactive approaches to behavior problems. Young children with an autistic spectrum disorder should receive specialized instruction in a setting in which ongoing interactions occur with typically developing children. Typically developing children act a good age-appropriate behavior and language models for children with autism to imitate.
3. Teaching sessions should be organized around relatively brief periods of time for the youngest children (e.g., 15- 20 minute intervals), including sufficient amounts of adult attention in one-to-one and very small group instruction to meet individualized goals.
4. 4. Inclusion of a family component, including parent training.
5. 5. Low student/teacher ratios (no more than two young children with autistic spectrum disorders per adult in the classroom).
6. Mechanisms for ongoing program/intervention evaluation and assessments of the individual child's progress. Results of these assessments should be translated into adjustments in programming. A child's progress in meeting objectives should be used on an ongoing basis to further refine the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Lack of progress over a 3 month period should be taken to indicate a need to increase intensity by lowering student/teacher ratios, increasing programming time, reformulating curricula, or providing additional training and consultation. Children should receive specialized instruction in settings in which ongoing interactions occur with typically developing children.
7. Functional, spontaneous communication should be the primary focus of early education. For very young children, programming should be based on the assumption that most children can learn to speak. Effective teaching techniques for both verbal and nonverbal communication, drawn from the empirical and theoretical literature, should be applied in a variety of settings.
8. Social instruction should be delivered throughout the day in various settings, using specific activities and interventions planned to meet age-appropriate, individualized social goals (e.g., with very young children, response to maternal imitation; with preschool children, cooperative activities with peers).
9. The teaching of play skills should focus on play with peers, with additional instruction in appropriate use of toys and other materials.
10. Other instruction aimed at goals for cognitive development should also be carried out in the context in which the skills are expected to be used. A detailed plan for generalization (extending new learning to other environments other than those in which they were learned) and maintenance of newly acquired skills to be applied in natural contexts should be part of each child's IEP.
11. Intervention strategies that address problem behaviors should incorporate information about the contexts in which the behaviors occur. Positive, proactive approaches should be used. Techniques that are employed should be supported in the research literature (e.g., functional assessment, functional communication training, reinforcement of alternative behaviors).
12. Functional academic skills should be taught when appropriate to the skills and needs of a child. Academic skills, however, are secondary to developing adequate communication, social, and independence skills.

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