Intensity of early behavioral intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder: a retrospective evaluation

Abstract

Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is currently the most studied and most practiced intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. There has been increasing evidence supporting the use of EIBI, but there have been limited evaluations of the effectiveness of EIBI intensity. The current study addressed this gap using data obtained from St.Amant Autism Program and comparing children receiving an average of 22 and 30 hours per week for a period of one year. Significant main effects of time were found for standardized measures of cognitive functioning, adaptive functioning, and autism severity. Future research should aim to address this research question with a larger sample size and a low-intensity control group.