Editorial: Individualizing Interventions for Young Children With Autism: Embracing the Next Generation of Intervention Research

Abstract

If you have known one child with autism, you have known one child with autism. Clinical heterogeneity is a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This includes heterogeneity of implicated genes, etiological pathways, neurocognitive mechanisms, behavioral characteristics, comorbid conditions, and developmental trajectories. It is not surprising that children with ASD also vary greatly in their response to interventions. A better understanding of which children benefit from which intervention is critical to ensure that each child has access to the most effective intervention, delivered at optimal intensity and implemented within a context that is most conducive to learning/generalization (eg, home, preschool). Evidence-based strategies to individualize intervention programs can guide parents and clinicians as they consider different intervention options throughout development.¹ The study that is the focus of this editorial expands the available literature in 2 important ways. First, the authors evaluate predictors of treatment response across multiple intervention approaches. Second, their results highlight the conceptual and practical distinction between child characteristics that predict outcome and child characteristics that predict treatment response.