Results are comparable with several other studies with a similar or slightly higher therapeutic intensity implementing comparable or different early intervention methods or programs .
Compared to most high-intensity programs ( 30–40 h/week ) , lower cognitive gains were observed .
Different early intervention programs , developed predominantly in the US , for preschool aged children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) have been published .
Several systematic review articles including a German Health Technology Assessment on behavioural and skill-based early interventions in children with ASD reported insufficient evidence and a substantial problem of generalisability to the German context .
In Germany , approx .
2–5 h early intervention is supported by social services .
A two-year prospective follow-up study of community-based early intensive behavioural intervention and specialist nursery provision for children with autism spectrum disorders.
BACKGROUND This prospect i ve study compared outcome for pre-school children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) receiving autism-specific nursery provision or home-based Early Intensive Behavioural Interventions ( EIBI ) in a community setting . METHODS Forty-four 23- to 53-month-old children with ASD participated ( 28 in EIBI home-based programmes ; 16 in autism-specific nurseries ) . Cognitive , language , play , adaptive behaviour skills and severity of autism were assessed at intake and 2 years later . RESULTS Both groups showed improvements in age equivalent scores but st and ard scores changed little over time . At follow-up , there were no significant group differences in cognitive ability , language , play or severity of autism . The only difference approaching significance ( p = .06 ) , in favour of the EIBI group , was for Vinel and Daily Living Skills st and ard scores . However , there were large individual differences in progress , with intake IQ and language level best predicting overall progress . CONCLUSIONS Home-based EIBI , as implemented in the community , and autism-specific nursery provision produced comparable outcomes after two years of intervention
Results are comparable with several other studies with a similar or slightly higher therapeutic intensity implementing comparable or different early intervention methods or programs .
Compared to most high-intensity programs ( 30–40 h/week ) , lower cognitive gains were observed .
Different early intervention programs , developed predominantly in the US , for preschool aged children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) have been published .
Several systematic review articles including a German Health Technology Assessment on behavioural and skill-based early interventions in children with ASD reported insufficient evidence and a substantial problem of generalisability to the German context .
In Germany , approx .
2–5 h early intervention is supported by social services .