Multi-component communication intervention for children with autism: A randomized controlled trial.
A 12-week parent-plus-tablet program lifts joint attention now and keeps social communication growing four months later for minimally verbal autistic preschoolers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers tested a short, caregiver-led program for preschoolers with autism who spoke few or no words.
The program mixed three tools: parent coaching, a speech tablet, and brief ABA lessons.
Families got 12 weekly one-hour sessions at home or in clinic.
Kids were randomly placed in the program or a wait-list control group.
What they found
Right after the 12 sessions, kids in the program showed more joint attention—looking and pointing with a parent.
Four months later, parents still saw better social communication at home.
The wait-list group stayed flat on both skills.
How this fits with other research
Ganz et al. (2009) showed parents can teach PECS without a therapist in the room. Giesbers et al. (2020) adds a tablet and tighter coaching, proving the idea works in a larger, controlled trial.
Ferguson et al. (2022) moved caregiver coaching to Zoom and saw small gains. The new study kept in-person visits but matched the focus on social communication, showing face-to-face still has an edge for joint attention.
de Jonge et al. (2025) looks like a clash—both used tablets and parent coaching via screen. The difference: E taught girls with Rett syndrome to link pages, while H taught autistic preschoolers to share attention. Same tools, different needs, so both can win.
Why it matters
You can run this 12-week package with any family who has a minimally verbal preschooler. Bring a tablet, teach the parents to wait, model, and respond, then watch joint attention rise within weeks. The social gains last long enough to matter at daycare or kindergarten entry.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study reports the results of a randomized trial for preverbal preschoolers with autism that demonstrates the effects of multiple intervention strategies including caregiver training. About 50% of children with autism are not talking by age 3 and up to 30% of children with autism will remain minimally verbal past age 5. Interventions delivered by clinicians and caregivers have the greatest effects on spoken language and may reduce the rate of those who remain minimally verbal. Sixty-eight children ages 3-5 with autism and their caregivers participated in this randomized trial comparing the communication intervention to a comparison group. A brief, multi-component, communication intervention (including a speech-generating device) for children with autism that addresses core deficits may be effective in improving joint attention skills immediately following intervention and social communication skills 4 months following intervention. Future research is needed to understand for whom and under what conditions this intervention is most effective.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2020 · doi:10.1177/1362361320934558