Inclusion for toddlers with autism spectrum disorders: the first ten years of a community program.
Eight months of inclusive toddler ABA moved one-third of kids with autism into the typical range.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A community center ran an inclusive toddler program for 102 kids with autism.
Kids spent eight months in classrooms with typical peers while getting ABA supports.
Staff tracked language, play, and daily living skills at start and end.
What they found
After eight months, one in three toddlers scored in the typical range on all tests.
Every child made big gains in talking, playing, and taking care of themselves.
The gains were large enough that many no longer needed intensive services.
How this fits with other research
Klusek et al. (2022) later showed parents can get similar results at home in just 12 weeks.
This extends the 2011 work by proving you do not need a center to see fast gains.
Watkins et al. (2019) zoomed in on one piece of the puzzle: using a child’s special interest to spark peer play.
They found four preschoolers quickly started talking to peers when trains or dinosaurs were part of the game.
Together, these studies show both full-day inclusion and short, targeted bursts work, depending on your resources.
Why it matters
If you serve toddlers with ASD, you now have two proven paths: a full inclusive classroom or short parent-coaching bursts. Check your funding and family needs, then pick one and start this week.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present quasi-experimental study examines the outcomes for a group of 102 children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder at age 2 who attended an inclusive toddler program (described by Stahmer and Ingersoll, 2004) until age 3. Outcomes on standardized developmental assessments indicate significant improvement, with large effect sizes, in developmental level, adaptive behavior and communication. Thirty-one of the children (31%) were functioning in the typically developing range when they exited the program at age 3, after an average of 8 months of intervention. Predictors of positive outcomes included length of time in the program, level of words and gestures use at entry and higher externalizing and lower internalizing behavior CBCL scores at entry. Implications for serving toddlers with autism in inclusive settings and suggestions for future research directions are discussed.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2011 · doi:10.1177/1362361310392253