Developmental Interventions for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcomes of developmental interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorders. Six criteria were used to select the studies included in this review. In the end 14 studies met the criteria and were included in the review. The table in Reichow and Volkmar (2010) study was used to analyze the studies. Five studies were based on developmental interventions (DI) and nine studies were based on developmental and behavioral interventions (DBI). Eleven out of 14 studies, interventions were provided via parents. This shows a growing emphasis on parent involvement in education of young children with autism. Considering that an early intervention study should address family-centered practice, natural involvement and active learning, there is a need for more studies searching for the ways of how to involve parents in intervention process. In three studies, outcome measures were increase in IQ level and the number of functional words. However, this can be questioned about how these measures were meaningful for young children with autism spectrum disorders.

Keywords

• Young children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental interventions, early intervention

Otizm Spektrum Bozukluğu Olan Küçük Çocuklarda Gelişimsel Müdahele Yöntemleri

Öz

Bu çalışmada, otizm spektrum bozukluğu olan küçük çocuklar için kullanılmış gelişimsel müdahale yöntemlerini içeren çalışmaların sonuçları incelenmiştir. İncelenecek çalışmaların seçiminde bazı ölçütler kullanılmıştır ve toplamda 14 makale seçilmiştir. 14 makalenin sonuçlarının çözümlenmesinde, Reichow ve Volkmar’ın (2010) çalışmasındaki çizelgeden yararlanılmıştır. Bulgular; gelişimsel müdahale yöntemlerini (GMY) içeren çalışmalar ve gelişimsel ve davranışsal müdahale yöntemlerini (G-DMY) birlikte içeren çalışmalar olmak üzere iki başlık altında incelenmiştir. Ulaşılan çalışmaların 5’i GMY’yi, 9’u ise G-DMY’yi içermektedir. İncelenen 14 araştırmanın 11’inde, müdahale aileler aracılığıyla sağlanmıştır. Bu durum, otizmli küçük çocukların eğitiminde aile katılımın önemini ortaya koymaktadır. Küçük çocuklar için erken müdahale yöntemlerinin; aile, doğal ortam ve etkin öğrenme merkezli olması gerektiği düşünüldüğünde, ailelerin sürece nasıl dahil edileceği ile ilgili araştırmalara da ağırlık verilmesi gerekmektedir. İncelenen bazı çalışmalarda (n=3) ise nihai ölçüt, IQ seviyesindeki ve işlevsel kelime sayısındaki artışla ilişkilendirilmiştir. Ancak bu ölçütlerin otizmli küçük çocuklar için ne derece anlamlı olduğu sorgulanmalıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Otizmli küçük çocuklar, gelişimsel müdahale yöntemleri, erken müdahale

Kaynakça

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