A Randomized Trial of Direct Instruction Language for Learning in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Objective: To compare Direct Instruction Language for Learning (DI) plus treatment as usual (TAU) with TAU alone in children with autism spectrum disorder and moderate language delay.

Method: In this study, 83 children (age range, 4 years to 7 years 11 months) were randomly assigned to DI+TAU (n = 42) or TAU (n = 41) for 6 months. Trained therapists delivered DI in twice-weekly, 90-minute sessions for 24 weeks.