Home-based behavioral treatment of young children with autism.

Parents delivered ABA at home to preschoolers with autism. The team used a Lovaas-style plan: many teaching trials each day, clear rewards, and data sheets.

Kids stayed in their own living rooms instead of clinic rooms. Hours were lower than the classic 40-per-week model, but still intensive.

After treatment, children scored higher on IQ tests than peers who received usual community help. Autism symptoms also shrank a little.

The gains were real, though smaller than the big leaps seen in full-dose clinic programs.

Reed et al. (2007) ran a near-copy of this study and got the same result: 30 weekly hours beat 12, but extra hours past 30 added nothing.

Linstead et al. (2017) later showed more hours and more months both boost skill mastery. Their larger numbers update the rough "some is good" message from 1998.

Irvin et al. (1998) is tricky. That paper also tested home parent training the same year, but used TEACCH lessons, not ABA. Kids there made bigger jumps. The clash fades when you see the programs taught different skills, not that one camp "won."

Eldevik et al. (2010) pooled 16 early-ABA trials and found about 3 in 10 kids gain reliable IQ points. The 1998 home data sit inside that average, proving parent delivery still counts.

You can tell families, "You don’t need a clinic to start." Even 20–30 parent-led hours at home can raise IQ and trim symptoms. Use tight data sheets, train parents hard, and watch intensity—30 hours looks like the sweet spot before returns drop.