Micro-Analyses Reveal Increased Parent-Child Positive Affect in Children with Poorer Adaptive Functioning Receiving the ESDM.

Synchronous positive affect (SPA) is a key element of parent-child interaction quality which is related to favorable developmental outcomes. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents tend to show less SPA compared to other populations. The current study explored changes in SPA made by parents and their children with ASD following the Preschool-Based Early Start Denver Model (PB-ESDM) intervention. Thirty children receiving PB-ESDM and 23 receiving treatment-as-usual (TAU) were assessed pre- and post- intervention using microanalysis of video-recorded parent-child interactions, in which SPA was quantified. Results showed a significant increase in SPA among children receiving PB-ESDM who had lower pre-treatment adaptive functioning. These findings suggest that SPA may serve as a sensitive treatment outcome measure for children with poorer adaptive functioning, who often struggle to show significant changes on standardized measures. The study's modest sample and non-randomized design are noted as limitations.

Integrating the Early Start Denver Model into Israeli community autism spectrum disorder preschools: Effectiveness and treatment response predictors.

LAY ABSTRACT: Early intensive intervention has been shown to significantly affect the development of children with Autism. However, the costly implementation of such interventions limits their wide dissemination in the community. This study examined an integration of a research-supported early intensive intervention model called the Early Start Denver Model into community preschool programs for children with Autism in Israel. Four community preschools implemented the preschool-based Early Start Denver Model and four implemented the existing multidisciplinary developmental intervention which is widely applied in Israeli community preschools for children with autism. Fifty-one children (aged 33-57 months) participated in the study. Twenty-six attended the preschool-based Early Start Denver Model preschools and twenty-five attended the multidisciplinary developmental intervention preschools. Before the intervention began, groups were comparable on children's age and developmental functioning and on families' socio-economic status. Results showed that, compared to the multidisciplinary developmental intervention group, children in the preschool-based Early Start Denver Model treatment group made greater gains on measures of overall cognitive development, language skills, as well as on parent- and teacher-reported adaptive communication and socialization abilities. Children who had lower autism symptom severity, higher adaptive functioning and better language understanding abilities before taking part in the preschool-based Early Start Denver Model program showed greater improvements following it. This study documents the successful implementation of an intensive early intervention program in pre-existing community preschools, underlining the importance of the integration of research-supported intervention programs into community settings.

Seeking Team Collaboration, Dialogue and Support: The Perceptions of Multidisciplinary Staff-Members Working in ASD Preschools.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts various developmental domains, requiring interventions by professionals from multiple disciplines. In Israel, ASD community preschools' multidisciplinary teams aim to provide each child with an integrative intervention program. The current study focused on the working experience of 21 professionals from multidisciplinary teams in ASD-preschools, with special emphasis on their perceptions of the intra-staff dialogue in their teams. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through grounded theory. Arising themes covered: challenges characterizing the delivery of intervention to children with ASD in a community setting; challenges met by professionals when attempting to navigate multidisciplinary teamwork; and factors that facilitate multidisciplinary work. Practices that support multidisciplinary team cohesion at the team, the organizational, and the policy-making levels are discussed.

Training Physical Therapists in Early ASD Screening.

Physical therapists (PTs) are often one of the first professionals to evaluate children at risk. To examine the effect of an early screening training on pediatric PTs': (1) knowledge of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (2) clinical self-efficacy, and (3) identification of markers. Twenty-six PTs participated in a 2-day "Early ASD Screening" workshop. The ASD Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, and video case study analysis were completed pre- and post-training. Changes following training were significant for ASD knowledge related to etiology and learning performance, early signs, risk factors, and clinical self-efficacy. Rating the videoed case study after the training, was significantly more accurate than it was before. Training PTs is important for enhancing early identification of ASD.

Unique effects of The transporters animated series and of parental support on emotion recognition skills of children with ASD: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

Emotion recognition (ER) and understanding deficits are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Transporters (TT) animated series has shown promising results in teaching children with ASD to recognize emotions, with mixed findings about generalization and maintenance of effects. This study aimed to evaluate the unique role of TT and of parental support in the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of acquired ER skills in children with ASD. 77 Israeli children with high functioning ASD, aged 4-7 were randomly assigned into four groups according to a 2 × 2 design of the factors Series (TT, control series) and Parental Support (with/without). Thirty typically developing children, matched to the ASD groups on mental age, were tested with no intervention. Participants' ER (on three generalization levels) and emotional vocabulary (EV) were tested pre and post 8 weeks of intervention, and at 3 months' follow-up. Compared to the control series, watching TT significantly improved children's ER skills at all generalization levels, with good skill maintenance. All groups improved equally on EV. The amount of parental support given, in the groups that had received it, contributed to the generalization and maintenance of ER skills. Autism severity negatively correlated with ER improvement. The current study provides evidence to the unique role of TT in ER skill acquisition, generalization, and maintenance in children with high functioning ASD. In addition, this study provides evidence for a successful cultural adaptation of TT to a non-English speaking culture. Autism Res 2017, 10: 993-1003. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.