Social and Communication Outcomes for Young Children With Autism

Child/parent dyads will be randomized to one of two intervention conditions: (1) Parent-child model, also known as the Caregiver Education Model (CMM):focuses on joint attention/engagement intervention using an established evidence based treatment (Kasari et al., 2006). It involves individual interventionist meetings with the parents and their children in their homes for one hour, twice a week for 12 weeks. In this intervention, the parent-child pair meet with the interventionist (as opposed to the group training in the CEM condition). Parents will be specifically taught techniques for altering the home environment and ways to enhance children's language, social, and play development. Parents will given guided practice (input and coaching from the interventionist) as they implement these techniques with their child. (2)Parent-education intervention, also known as the Caregiver Education Model (CEM): focuses on teaching parents information about autism, behavior modification, and community services using a manualized approach (Brereton \& Tonge, 2005). Parents will receive information on child development each week, and will be able to ask questions and discuss the information vis-à-vis their own child. This intervention is manualized (Brereton \& Tonge 2005). In the CEM condition, parents meet in a group, without their children, in a community-based setting to receive the intervention. Intervention in both conditions occurs for 2 hours for 12 weeks.