The small number of studies included in the present study limited the ability to make inferences when comparing the three models and investigating the strengths and weaknesses of each type of intervention with respect to important outcomes .
Since the outcome of ' reciprocity of social interaction towards others ' could be a dependent variable that might be context -bound to interactions with the child 's parent , we can not conclude the interventions for pre-school children with ASD have significant effects on a generalized skill to engage in reciprocal interactions with others .
However , the outcomes of ' reciprocity of social interaction towards others ' and ' parental synchrony ' may be promising targets for interventions involving pre-school children with ASD .
BACKGROUND There has an increasing number of published trials on psychosocial intervention programmes for pre-school children with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) .
To achieve better quality of unbiased evidence for the effectiveness of ASD interventions , it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive review that covers studies with adequate quality st and ards , such as r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) , and different types of intervention In this study , we categorize interventions for ASD as behavioural , social-communication focused , and multimodal developmental based on Howlin 's classification of early interventions for children with ASD .
The aim of this study was to compare these three models and investigate the strengths and weaknesses of each type of intervention and to identify the approaches that contribute to a successful outcome for children with autism .
Brief Report: Longitudinal Improvements in the Quality of Joint Attention in Preschool Children with Autism
Children with autism exhibit deficits in their quantity and quality of joint attention . Early autism intervention studies rarely document improvement in joint attention quality . The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a change in joint attention quality for preschoolers with autism who were r and omized to a joint attention intervention , symbolic play intervention , or a control group .  Quality was defined as shared positive affect during joint attention as well as shared positive affect and utterances during joint attention . Interactions of group and time were found for both types of joint attention quality . During the follow up visits , the joint attention and symbolic play intervention groups produced more of these two types of joint attention quality than the control group
The small number of studies included in the present study limited the ability to make inferences when comparing the three models and investigating the strengths and weaknesses of each type of intervention with respect to important outcomes .
Since the outcome of ' reciprocity of social interaction towards others ' could be a dependent variable that might be context -bound to interactions with the child 's parent , we can not conclude the interventions for pre-school children with ASD have significant effects on a generalized skill to engage in reciprocal interactions with others .
However , the outcomes of ' reciprocity of social interaction towards others ' and ' parental synchrony ' may be promising targets for interventions involving pre-school children with ASD .
BACKGROUND There has an increasing number of published trials on psychosocial intervention programmes for pre-school children with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) .
To achieve better quality of unbiased evidence for the effectiveness of ASD interventions , it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive review that covers studies with adequate quality st and ards , such as r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) , and different types of intervention In this study , we categorize interventions for ASD as behavioural , social-communication focused , and multimodal developmental based on Howlin 's classification of early interventions for children with ASD .
The aim of this study was to compare these three models and investigate the strengths and weaknesses of each type of intervention and to identify the approaches that contribute to a successful outcome for children with autism .