Prediction of school-age outcomes for autistic children following receipt of group-early start denver model

Abstract

BackgroundEarly predictors of developmental outcomes of school-age autistic children aged 6–9 years were examined in the current study. Method: Thirty-one autistic children that had received 12-months of Group-based Early Start Denver Model (G-ESDM) in a community childcare during their pre-school years were followed longitudinally. Cognition and autism behaviours were re-assessed at school-age. Results: Children’s non-verbal and verbal cognition at baseline predicted within the same developmental domains at school age, with early verbal and non-verbal cognition also predicting adaptive behaviour at school age. Conclusions: This is the first study to document the relationship between early baseline characteristics at intake into EI and later school age outcomes following G-ESDM cessation. Importantly, the current findings reveal that developmental gains following receipt of a naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention within a community setting extend beyond the EI years and into the school years.