The findings did not support the widely reported generalisation ' difficulties ' associated with autism .
Research ers have generally considered autistic individuals to have difficulties generalising learned skills across novel context s. Successful generalisation is necessary for an intervention to have benefits in everyday life beyond the original learning environment .
We conducted a systematic review of r and omised controlled trials of early social communication interventions for children with autism in order to explore generalisation and its measurement .
Caregiver-Mediated Intervention for Low-Resourced Preschoolers With Autism: An RCT
OBJECTIVES : To compare 2 short-term , community caregiver training interventions for preschool-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder who had low re sources . Low re source was defined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development low-income index or 1 “ indicator , ” ( eg , Medicaid eligibility ) . Child outcomes focused on joint engagement , joint attention , and play . METHODS : Participants included 112 families of a child who had Autism Spectrum Disorder who met criteria for being low-re source d and who were r and omly assigned to 1 of 2 3-month interventions , group caregiver education or individualized caregiver-mediated intervention ( CMM ) .  Children were assessed for social communication skills pre- and post-treatment , and followed up at 3 months . RESULTS : All children improved in joint engagement and initiating joint attention , with significantly greater improvement by the CMM group . Outcomes on play skills were mixed , with improvement of symbolic play for the CMM group and no change in functional play skills . Joint engagement maintained over time for the CMM group , and initiating joint attention maintained for both groups over time . CONCLUSIONS : This study is among the first r and omized trials comparing 2 active interventions with a large sample of low-re source d families . Results suggest improvements in core autism deficits of joint engagement , joint attention , and symbolic play with relatively brief , caregiver-mediated interventions , but additional support is necessary to maintain and generalize these gains over time
The findings did not support the widely reported generalisation ' difficulties ' associated with autism .
Research ers have generally considered autistic individuals to have difficulties generalising learned skills across novel context s. Successful generalisation is necessary for an intervention to have benefits in everyday life beyond the original learning environment .
We conducted a systematic review of r and omised controlled trials of early social communication interventions for children with autism in order to explore generalisation and its measurement .