Effectiveness of Early Intervention Approaches for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dr. Hina Hadayat Ali*; Dr. Khaliq Hussain; Dr. Muhammad Nazir

Authors

Dr. Hina Hadayat Ali* Assistant Professor/Coordinator, Department of Special Education, University of Education, Lahore, Faisalabad Campus, Pakistan
Dr. Khaliq Hussain Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Riphah International University, Faisalabad Campus, Pakistan
Dr. Muhammad Nazir Lecturer, Special Education, Department of Special Education, University of Education, Lahore, Faisalabad Campus, Pakistan

Abstract

The study investigated the effectiveness of early intervention approaches for children with autism spectrum disorder in Pakistani society. The study's population consisted of teachers working with children who have intellectual disabilities across both private and public sectors within the province of Punjab. For this study, 51 teachers from the district of Faisalabad, who work with children having autism spectrum disorders, were selected as the sample. The developed questionnaire was validated by a panel of experts using the Content Validity Index. For this purpose, five experts in special education, all holding PhDs in the field, were selected and contacted via email. After obtaining their consent, they were asked to assess the questionnaire items on a three-point scale: 1) essential; 2) relevant; and 3) unnecessary. The researchers approached school teachers to conduct the survey and collect data from teachers. The data was numerically coded and transferred to SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Subsequently, frequency, valid percentage, and cumulative average were swiftly performed to identify the effectiveness of early intervention approaches for children with ASD. It was inferred that most (58.8%) of the respondents favored the use cognitive behavior therapy technique as an early intervention for the ASD children, a significant portion of the respondents (49%) agreed that Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Model (DIR/Floortime) is a useful early intervention strategy for ASD Children, whereby a significant portion of the respondents supported the notion that early intervention strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder should be based in educational and school settings. The study will be very beneficial in ameliorating the effective rehabilitation measures for the ASD Children.

Key Words: Effectiveness, early interventions, children, autism spectrum disorder.