Developmental Approaches to Treatment of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Developmental treatment approaches for young children with autism are defined as those that apply the principles of developmental science within the intervention, use typical developmental sequences as the framework for assessment and program planning, and are relationship-based, child-centered, and play-based. This chapter describes eleven of these branded developmental treatment models and systematically reviews the empirical evidence for each: Denver Model; Early Start Denver Model (ESDM); Developmental Individual Differenences Relationship-Based Model (DIR/Floortime), Hanen’s More than Words; Joint Attention Mediated Learning (JAML); Joint Attention Symbolic Play Engagement and Regulation (JASPER); Relationship Development Intervention (RDI); Responsive Education and Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (RPMT); Responsive Teaching (RT); Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS); Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH). Each treatment approach is reviewed on two levels: (1) to identify the developmental components encompassed by each; and (2) to determine the robustness of the empirical studies of each treatment approach using Nathan and Gorman’s (2002, 2007) criteria for establishing empirical support. The empirical evidence for each approach is summarized and study limitations are considered. The chapter concludes with recommendations for the future, both in terms of additional efficacy and effectiveness studies, as well as the development or modification of treatment approaches to meet the developmental needs of younger children with autism.