The Effects of Early Intervention Programs on the Social Communication Skills of Young Children with Autism: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Social communication deficient is one of the fundamental issues of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Therefore, several intervention approaches have been used to develop social communication skills for young children with ASD. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and reflect the literature about the effect of early intervention programs on the social communication skills of young children with ASD. The review analyzed the early intervention studies between 2009 and 2019. The researcher used digital format database research: Scopus, PubMed, and Eric journal, using the keywords: "Autism Spectrum Disorder", AND "early intervention", AND "children", AND communication skills", OR "social skills". The PRISMA criteria for reporting in systematic reviews were utilized. The inclusion criteria were; the use of training programs, targeting social communication skills, provided by professionals and teachers, young children with ASD. It was excluded studies outside the scope of the subject; that do not meet the inclusion criteria; randomized control trails studies; Studies about parents or professionals and incomplete articles without accessibility. The results of the search showed 140 publications, only 12 studies were analyzed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.