Effects of a low-intensity Early Start Denver Model-based intervention delivered in an inclusive preschool setting

Abstract

The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is a promising early intervention for promoting improved social, cognitive, and communication outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most studies evaluating group-based delivery of this program have used 15–25 h per week of intervention in specialized ESDM preschools with low child–teacher ratios. Thus, the positive results from such studies might not be obtained when this intervention model is evaluated in more typical inclusive preschool settings. In this study, a low-intensity version of the ESDM was delivered to three young children with ASD in their regular inclusive preschool by a certified therapist who did not typically work at any of the preschools. The intervention procedures were implemented for 3 h per week over an 8- to 10-week period. Data were gathered on children’s levels of participation, imitation, and communication from weekly 10-min video recordings. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple probe across participants design with 3 weekly follow-up probes, 3 weeks after the intervention ended. All participants showed improvement in active participation, imitation and either intentional vocalizations or spontaneous functional utterances. These results were generally maintained at follow-up. This low-intensity version of the ESDM would seem effective for use in real-world preschool environments.

Keywords:

• autism spectrum disorder
• early intervention
• preschools
• Early Start Denver Model

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interests and are solely responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

Additional information

Funding

Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a PhD scholarship awarded to Jessica Tupou from Victoria University of Wellington.