Association for Behavior Analysis International

This prospective study was designed to examine predictors of outcome after 12 months of community-based Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) in 171 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Predictors included Age at Intake, Intake Adaptive Behavior (Vineland-II), Treatment Intensity, Treatment Quality and Treatment Acceptability. In order to evaluate predictors of outcome, Pearson correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions (MR) was conducted for each outcome measure. Non-parametric tests (?2) were used for variables that did not meet normal distribution. For Vineland ABC and all Vineland subscales (Communication, Social Skills, Daily Living Skills, Motor Skills and Maladaptive Behavior), higher intake scores predicted significantly higher outcome scores. Furthermore, younger intake age and higher treatment quality was associated with improved outcome. Treatment quality improved over time, but children who received lower treatment quality initially tended to receive overall lower treatment quality. Children who received higher number of treatment hours also tended to receive better treatment quality. Parents and therapists scored treatment acceptability as very high, and treatment acceptability score was independent of the children’s outcome. These findings add to our knowledge of potential predictors of outcome for children receiving EIBI and about relations between treatment intensity, treatment quality and treatment acceptability.

Practitioners working with children with ASD