Sustained Autism Outcomes Eight Years After Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention in a Conflict-Affected...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Global Health

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents unique challenges in low-resource and conflict-affected regions.
• Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI) is a recognized approach for ASD, but its long-term efficacy in challenging contexts is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the long-term outcomes of the Future Centre's Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (FC-EIBI) for children with ASD.
• To assess the durability of intervention effects over more than a decade in a conflict-affected, low-resource setting in Syria.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study design tracking 66 children with ASD from 2008 to 2019.
• Utilized the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Autism Behaviour Checklist-Arabic (ABC), and Adaptive Behaviour Scale-Arabic (ABS-Arabic) for assessments.
• Employed nonparametric repeated-measures analyses to examine changes in autism severity and adaptive functioning.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in autism symptom severity and adaptive functioning were observed from baseline to early follow-up (p < 0.001).
• While some attenuation of gains occurred by 2019, outcomes remained significantly better than baseline.
• Adaptive functioning gains were most prominent in Social Interaction and Communication/Language between 2008-2013.

Conclusions:

• FC-EIBI demonstrated considerable and durable developmental benefits for children with ASD over 10+ years.
• The findings highlight the feasibility of achieving and sustaining meaningful outcomes in conflict-affected, low-resource contexts.
• Sustained intervention effects underscore the importance of early behavioral interventions even amidst sociopolitical instability.