title: Predictors of outcomes in autism early intervention: why don't we know more?
abstract: Response to early intervention programs in autism is variable. However, the factors associated with positive versus poor treatment outcomes remain unknown. Hence the issue of which intervention/s should be chosen for an individual child remains a common dilemma. We argue that lack of knowledge on "what works for whom and why" in autism reflects a number of issues in current approaches to outcomes research, and we provide recommendations to address these limitations. These include: a theory-driven selection of putative predictors; the inclusion of proximal measures that are directly relevant to the learning mechanisms demanded by the specific educational strategies; the consideration of family characteristics. Moreover, all data on associations between predictor and outcome variables should be reported in treatment studies.
authors.affiliation: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia ; Victorian Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre, La Trobe University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vivanti
authors.affiliation: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia ; School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prior
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dissanayake
keywords: autism; early intervention; individual differences; outcomes; predictors