TITLE An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Early Intervention on Autistic Children.

This paper focuses on several prescribed interventions used to elicit and meet the needs of children with autism. Three intervention strategies that affect behavior modification of children with autism are discussed: (1) early intensive behavioral treatment; (2) social interaction between children with a disability and their typical peers; and (3) symbolic play therapy. A literature review concludes that early intensive behavioral intervention has brought about a substantial amount of progress for over half the children involved and that these behavioral interventions are effective in the long run. The need for early intensive behavioral treatment to be restructured to accommodate the classroom and home environment is urged. Integrated social environments with children with and without disabilities were also found to have positive results. Decreased levels of autistic behaviors corresponded with the availability to typical peers in the same setting of children with autism. Finally, the literature review found that children with autism were able to generate some pretend play with cues and prompts or toys with many manipulative features, which helps children with autism correlate to the external world. (Contains 35 references.) (CR) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document.