Free access to Autism articles to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day

Selection of articles

From Autism

To mark World Autism Awareness Day 2012 SAGE has freed access to the top 3 downloaded articles for the Autism journal.

• Evidence-Based Practices and Autism
• Social Stories^TM to improve social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review
• Increasing social responsiveness in a child with autism: A comparison of music and non-music interventions

Visit the landing page to find, for a limited period, free access to the top 10 cited and top downloaded articles for this journal.

Inclusion for toddlers with autism spectrum disorders: The first ten years of a community program

From Autism

A growing number of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are now diagnosed before their third birthday, increasing there is a need for appropriate and effective community intervention programs for toddlers. There is a general consensus of the benefits from early intervention services. This study examines the outcomes for a group of 102 children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder at age 2 who attended an inclusive toddler program until age 3 after an average of 8 months of intervention. This study represents the largest description of outcomes for toddlers with ASD in a community inclusion program. Overall, this quasi-experimental examination provides support for a community inclusion model that combines evidence-based intervention methods. On the whole the children made statistically and clinically significant gains in developmental level, receptive and expressive communication, and adaptive behavior.

Distance education for parents of children with autism found effective

The use of a self-directed learning program to provide introductory training in pivotal response treatment to parents of children with autism

From: Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

Family members play a central role in the education and treatment of children with autism. This study reveals how the use of a self-directed learning program, mainly through the use of instructional DVDs, can offer an easier, more convenient and flexible way for parents to learn how to teach their child to communicate and improve their behavior. The feedback from participating parents was very positive and results indicate that parents did improve their skills and there were significant improvements in child behavior.