High-Quality Early Education for Children Who Have Autism
August 12, 2013 by Alyssa Haywoode
Photo: Alessandra Hartkopf for Strategies for Children
A new study takes on the debate over which preschool teaching models effectively support children who have autism spectrum disorders.
The study found that several models were beneficial. According to the study’s researchers, what appears effective for supporting children who are on the autism spectrum – as well as for those who are not – is being enrolled in a high-quality early education program.
Comparing Interventions
As Education Week explains in its blog, “A comparison of two well-known interventions for young children with autism, LEAP and TEACCH, has found that both of them produce gains among students during the school year—and so does high-quality classroom instruction that is not tied to any particular model.”
“The TEACCH model is based on creating an environment that meets the characteristics and learning needs of young children with autism, often using visual schedules and work systems,” according to a summary of the study, which was conducted by researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child
