Developing and implementing early intervention plans for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurobiological disability that affects communication, social interaction, and behavior and can now be reliably diagnosed in children as young as 2 years of age. Research indicates that intensive early intervention is critical for improving outcomes for children with ASD and their families. There is, however, scant research describing effective intervention programs for children under the age of 3. Because communication is one of the core developmental areas affected by ASD and is likely to be an area parents consistently identify as a priority, speech-language pathologists are in a critical position to support children with ASD and their families at the earliest stage of intervention. The purpose of this article is to present promising practices for speech-language pathologists to use while collaboratively developing and implementing early intervention plans for children with ASD and their families.