First Step to Success: Applications to Preschoolers at Risk of Developing Autism Spectrum Disorders.
First Step to Success is a brief, low-cost package that boosts key readiness skills in preschoolers at risk for autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers tested First Step to Success with preschoolers who showed early signs of autism. The program blends teacher coaching, parent training, and child social-skills lessons. Kids were picked at random for the program or for regular preschool routines.
What they found
Children in First Step improved on seven of eleven skills, including sharing, following directions, and staying on task. Parents and teachers both said the kids acted more ready for kindergarten. The study calls the program “feasible” for everyday preschool rooms.
How this fits with other research
Klusek et al. (2015) looked at nine similar early studies and agreed: short, parent-led programs can work, but we need more hard data. Their review includes preschool projects like First Step and shows the field is still building proof.
Ingersoll et al. (2013) ran a close cousin—Project ImPACT—with the same age group and design. Both RCTs found parent coaching lifted social and language skills, giving you two manuals to pick from.
Kasari et al. (2025) moved the idea up a grade. They tried a flexible ABA plan with older, minimally verbal kids and saw no extra gain from starting with one style over another. It hints that early, structured programs like First Step may give the biggest punch before age five.
Why it matters
If you serve three- to five-year-olds with red-flag autism signs, First Step is ready to go. It needs one coach, short daily lessons, and weekly parent groups. You can run it right in public preschool rooms without extra space or gear. Try adding the First Step home component to your current parent-training nights and track sharing and compliance as your first two data points.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may not always be recognized as such during their early years, but some of their behavioral problems may nonetheless prompt a referral for behavioral intervention. Whether such an intervention brings any benefit has not been well studied. We identified a subsample of 34 preschool children at risk for autism spectrum disorder from a large randomized controlled trial (N = 126) of the First Step to Success program. Children at risk of developing ASD demonstrated significant improvements on seven of 11 outcome measures and on a responder analyses based on symptom severity. Process and fidelity measures also suggested that First Step was both feasible and socially acceptable. Implications for early intervention for children at risk of developing ASD are discussed.
Education and training in autism and developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1177/1053815114566090