Intervention targeting development of socially synchronous engagement in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Social and communication impairments are core deficits and prognostic indicators of autism. We evaluated the impact of supplementing a comprehensive intervention with a curriculum targeting socially synchronous behavior on social outcomes of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Methods: Fifty toddlers with ASD, ages 21 to 33 months, were randomized to one of two six-month interventions: Interpersonal Synchrony or Non-Interpersonal Synchrony.

Social and communication development in toddlers with early and later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders.

Context: To our knowledge, no prospective studies of the developmental course of early and later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders from 14 months of age exist.

Objective: To examine patterns of development from 14 to 24 months in children with early and later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders.

Design: Prospective, longitudinal design in which 125 infants at high and low risk for autism were tested from age 14 to 36 months.