Early Intervention in Severe Autism: Positive Outcome Using Exchange and Development Therapy.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

• Early intervention is crucial for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Few programs effectively target severe autism with co-occurring intellectual disability (ID).
• The Tailored and Inclusive Program for Autism-Tours (TIPA-T) was developed to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychological and clinical outcomes of severe autism and ID children in the TIPA-T program.
• To assess the efficacy of the Exchange and Development Therapy (EDT) component of TIPA-T.

Main Methods:

• 32 children with severe ASD and ID participated in the 9-month TIPA-T program.
• Cognitive, socio-emotional, and general development were assessed using standardized scales (e.g., Social Cognitive Evaluation Battery, Brunet-Lézine Scale-Revised).
• Autistic symptomatology was evaluated using the Behavior Summarized Evaluation-Revised scale in individual and group settings.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in cognitive and socio-emotional skills for most children.
• 85% of children showed decreased autistic symptomatology in one-to-one settings, with over 60% showing improvement in group settings.
• Global developmental age increased by an average of 3.8 months, with notable gains in social interaction.

Conclusions:

• The TIPA-T program, particularly the EDT, effectively enhances socio-emotional skills and reduces autistic symptomatology in children with severe ASD and ID.
• Outcomes were heterogeneous, reflecting the diverse profiles within the ASD population.
• The study demonstrates the benefits of TIPA-T for this underserved population, showing generalizable improvements in social interaction.