Connie Kasari Ph.D., Professor, UCLA Education, 11000 Kinross Avenue, Suite 102 Los Angeles, CA 90095 kasari@gseis.ucla.edu
Abstract
This collaborative treatment program is written in response to Program Announcement HRSA-08-143 Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIR-B Network) and involves 5 different sites, all of which are well positioned to carry out the proposed work plan: University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Michigan, University of Washington, Florida State University and Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI). The Principal Investigators at each site (Connie Kasari at UCLA, Catherine Lord at Michigan, Bryan King at Washington, Amy Wetherby at Florida State, and Rebecca Landa at KKI) are at the forefront in their respective areas of intervention research. Merging interests in behavioral interventions, core deficits, validation of assessment measures and innovative treatment techniques, this team of Investigators proposes to test evidence-based practices on core deficits and active ingredients of intervention, validate meaningful outcome measures, develop evidence-based intervention guidelines, and disseminate information to health professionals and families using innovative approaches.
Recent epidemiological studies indicate that the prevalence of autism and related disorders may be as high as 1 in 150 children (Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring, 2007). There is a critical need to test the effectiveness of intervention for children with autism given the heavy burden of the impairments on individuals and their families and high cost to the health care system. While researchers have made some progress in identifying effective interventions, a generally accepted standard of care is not yet available. Furthermore, while there is mounting research on the core deficits of autism, few treatments have focused on these deficits, particularly in the critical area of social communication. Comprehensive treatment packages have been developed, but they have not been rigorously tested according to usual standards of evidence-based treatments. Often these treatment packages are more similar than dissimilar and comparison of packages will be unlikely to yield information on active ingredients of treatment (specific content, dose, intensity, agent of change, context; Kasari, 2002). Thus, it is important that future studies on evidence based practices focus on targeted and specific treatments aimed at core deficits, and also examine broader child and family characteristics that may moderate treatment response.
Two concept proposals are presented that focus on underserved and underrepresented intervention issues in autism (core deficits of social communication in children with limited language, peer relationships of children in regular classrooms and children from diverse economic and ethnic/cultural backgrounds). Our goals are also to bridge research to practice by validating instruments for core deficits that can be easily implemented by practitioners and developing a set of guidelines for evidence-based interventions that can be utilized by health professionals and families. Our proposed Network has promise for informing both families and professionals about important treatment targets, active ingredients, and meaningful outcomes of effective treatments, and for improving the prospect for effective matching of treatment to the unique characteristics of the individual.
Publications
Pending
Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorders; Communication Disorders; Cultural Diversity; Developmental Disabilities; Early Intervention; Interdisciplinary Teams; Online Databases; Parent Education; Professional Education in Developmental Disabilities
