Parents of toddlers who show signs of autism will soon have options to help them more quickly when the province rolls out four new treatments for children as young as 12 months old.
The interventions, backed by clinical research, are part of an emerging “naturalistic” approach to treating autism that takes place in the child’s own environment while they play and during the normal course of daily life.
A key part of each program is teaching parents strategies they can use immediately and in the future to help their child engage and communicate.
Pilot programs are to operate for three years through four existing agencies or children’s centres. Details are expected to be announced this week by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.
The news comes at a time when thousands of Ontario children with symptoms of the neurodevelopmental disorder wait months for an assessment and diagnosis, and then years to get a provincially-funded treatment spot.
Research shows that “providing the right early interventions as soon as the first signs of ASD (autism spectrum disorder) emerge in infants and toddlers can have a significant impact on a child’s development,” the ministry wrote last summer in a statement seeking agencies to deliver the new programs.
The new services are aimed at giving more options to parents who want to help their children immediately instead of feeling they have nowhere to turn while stuck on wait-lists. They are easier to implement and much less costly than intensive behavioural intervention (IBI) delivered by therapists.
The number of spots available has yet to be disclosed.
Naturalistic models are based on the principles of applied behaviour analysis (ABA), the most common and tested treatment for autism, which uses repetition and positive reinforcement. But these new approaches add a twist. Instead of instructing, parents follow the child’s lead and learn to harness whatever captures the toddler’s attention as a teaching tool.
The four programs include:
Social ABCs: Developed and tested in a clinical trial by autism researchers at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto and IWK Health Centre in Halifax. It is the only Canadian-made model of the four. The six-month program is aimed at children 12 months to 30 months.
Early Start Denver Model (ESDM): Developed and tested at University of California Davis Mind Institute, a leading facility for autism research. While originally designed for children up to age 5, the three-month program is considered most beneficial for infants and toddlers. Currently available privately from a handful of certified therapists in the GTA.
ESI-SCERTS (Early Social Interaction/Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support): A nine-month program designed by Amy Wetherby, director of the Autism Institute at Florida State University. Most beneficial for children beginning treatment at ages 12 to 24 months.
JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement and Regulation): Developed at University of California Los Angeles and tested in eight clinical trials over 15 years involving 500 children from toddlers to age 8. The approach is taught to parents over a period of two to six months.