Early Start Denver Model

Abstract

While an increasing number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are being identified at younger ages, most early interventions are targeted at older preschoolers. The necessity for early interventions for toddlers has increased as the gap widens between age of identification and age of available intervention. Further, few studies or sources have compared the effectiveness of present interventions. Interventions including Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA); the Lovaas Model; the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children (TEACCH); and Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support (SCERTS®) have received support in the treatment of ASD. A promising intervention developed by Sally Rogers and Geraldine Dawson (The Early Start Denver Model: promoting language, learning, and engagement. NY, Guilford) comprises elements of ABA and relationship-based approaches to target the younger children now being identified as having ASD as infants and toddlers. With origins from the Denver Model of 1981, the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is the only early intervention model validated in a randomized clinical trial for children as young as 18 months, as reported by Dawson et al. [Pediatrics, 125(1), e17–e23, 2010]. A manualized treatment, ESDM has gained acceptance as an efficacious program [as reported by Rogers and Dawson (The Early Start Denver Model: promoting language, learning, and engagement. NY, Guilford, 2010)]. Published in 2010, the ESDM will require further longer term follow-up studies and replications to demonstrate consistency of results over time.