Evaluation of a Language Program for Young Autistic Children

¹ Pre-Schooler's Workshop, Garden City, New York

This report presents retrospective data comparing an individualized language development program for preschool autistic children receiving language remediation (experimental subjects) with a group receiving the basic school curriculum only (control subjects). All findings favored the language remediation group, as indicated: (1) experimental subjects made significant gains in one year while the control group required two years; (2) after one year, experimental subjects surpassed controls on four measures; (3) only experimental subjects made significant gains in communicative speech, noteworthy because interpersonal interaction is so difficult for the autistic child; and (4) after two years, 58% of the experimental subjects, but only 14% of the controls, had mastered all seven skills. These results support the hypothesis that an individualized language remediation program facilitates the acquisition of prelinguistic and linguistic skills.

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				S. Levy, A.-H. Kim, and M. L. Olive Interventions for Young Children With Autism: A Synthesis of the Literature Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, January 1, 2006; 21(1): 55 - 62. [Abstract] [PDF]