An early intervention program for very young children with autism can help improve intelligence quotient (IQ), according to a new US study.
Published on the website of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the study looked at the Early Start Denver Model, an intervention for children between eighteen and thirty months of age. The program utilises a combination of developmental and applied behavioural analysis approaches, and the study showed “significant improvements in IQ, adaptive behavior, and autism diagnosis” for children on the program, compared with children who received conventional care.
The research team, led by Sally Rogers, of the Mind Institute at the University of California, cites its findings as evidence of the importance of early detection of, and intervention in, autism.
