학술논문
Brief Report: Assessment of a Caregiver-Implemented Intervention for Improving Social Communication Skills in Toddlers and Young Children with Autism.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*PILOT projects
*LANGUAGE acquisition
*PSYCHOLOGY of caregivers
*AUTISM
*RESEARCH funding
*EARLY intervention (Education)
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
*COMMUNICATION education
*SOCIAL skills education
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Language
ISSN
0162-3257
Abstract
As early identification of autism improves, there is a critical need for interventions to support the development of social communication skills in toddlers. Caregiver coaching and parental involvement is crucial for improving outcomes and providing children with adequate hours of planned active engagement. This pilot study assessed a 4-week intervention for individual caregiver–child dyads. Eight toddlers 21- to 45-months of age participated. Standardized assessments were collected at four study visits to assess autism symptomatology, language development, and both caregiver knowledge and engagement. Results demonstrated the feasibility of the intervention. Social communication, receptive and expressive language all improved as measured by direct assessment. Caregiver knowledge and caregivers' subjective feelings of engagement with their toddlers also improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]