Early speech therapy intervention in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study looked at speech therapy using the DIR/Floortime approach for 20 young children with autism (average age 29 months). After 24 therapy sessions, children showed meaningful improvements in their communication skills - they communicated more often and took up more space in conversations. The results suggest that early speech therapy can help young autistic children develop better communication skills when treatment is tailored to each child's individual needs.

This prospective longitudinal study examined early speech therapy intervention using the DIR/Floortime model in 20 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder under 4 years old. Participants received 24 intervention sessions plus assessment sessions, with 90% having an Infantile Autism diagnosis. Results showed statistically significant improvements in communication measures: average increase of 0.8 communicative acts and 6.66% increase in communicative space occupation, with decreased gesture use. A moderate positive correlation was found between intentional two-way communication capacity and communication acts per minute.

The study demonstrates that social communication skills are interconnected and require individualized, correlational intervention approaches in early childhood autism intervention.

DIR/Floortime-based speech therapy shows promise for improving communication skills in young autistic children. Results support individualized intervention approaches that address interconnected social communication skills. Early intervention timing appears beneficial for developing intentional communication capacities.

Small sample size of 20 children limits generalizability. Single-group design without control group reduces ability to establish causal relationships. Short follow-up period (7 months) unclear regarding long-term sustainability of gains. Limited diversity in intervention approach.

To analyze the results of speech therapy intervention based on the principles of the DIR/Floortime model in early childhood in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A longitudinal, quantitative, and prospective manner with direct and indirect intervention, whose target population was children up to three years and eleven months of age, with atypical language development associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It led twenty-four speech therapy early intervention sessions based on the DIR Floortime model, in addition to two initial assessment sessions, and two sessions for final assessment. Twenty children completed the research, with an average age of 29 months at the initial assessment and 36 months in the final assessment.

Among the children, 90% already had a diagnosis of Infantile Autism (F84.0). Comparing the results of the Pragmatic Profile, There was an average increase of 0.8 communicative acts and 6.66% in the occupation of the communicative space with statistical significance, as well as a decrease in the use of gestures. There was also a positive glow with moderate significance between "Intentional two-way communication" and the number of acts expressed per minute (the greater the capacity for intentional two-way communication, the greater the number of acts per minute). When analyzing the pre- and post-intervention results, a consistent and statistically significant evolution is observed.

In social communication, skills are interconnected and need to be worked on in a correlational manner, observing the individual needs of each child.