Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorders, or ASD, is an umbrella term commonly used to describe several developmental disorders in which individuals have substantial differences in the nature of their social development and communication skills, as well as unusual behaviors and interests. ASD is not a diagnostic category, but is widely used to refer to three of the five diagnoses under the category of pervasive developmental disorders. Those three diagnoses are Autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

The National Standards Report (November 2009) provides information on which treatments have been shown to be effective for children with ASD. It covers a broad range of applied treatments, identifies the level of scientific evidence available for each, and provides specific information about the age groups, treatment targets, and diagnostic populations to which these treatments have been applied. It is the final report of the National Standards Project, which was convened by National Autism Center in 2005 to work on establishing and ratifying a set of standards for effective, research-validated education and behavioral intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Evidence-based Practices for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders - The National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has adopted a formal definition of evidence-based practices (EBP) and identified 24 practices for children and youth with ASD that meet their criteria. (posted November 2009)

Preventing Challenging Behavior: A Model for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (November 2, 2009), with Glen Dunlap and Phil Strain. - This online Webinar and discussion, hosted by the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI), presents a three-tiered framework for organizing prevention and intervention strategies that is appropriate for home, community and preschool applications.

A Training Model for the Diagnosis of Autism in Community Pediatric Practice, by Zachary Warren and Wendy Stone, was published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. (posted October 15, 2009)

Queries: Screening and Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders. (2009, September). Shaw, E. & Hatton, D. (Eds.). NECTAC. (PDF: 373kb)