What is the Evidence-Base for Naturalistic Intervention?

The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder (NPDC) reviewed and updated the literature on evidence-based, focused intervention practices previously conducted by NPDC.

• A total of 27 EBPs are identified in the current review. 
• A total of 10 of these practices meet the criteria and have been shown effective with infants and toddlers with ASD.

The practices were identified as evidence-based when at least two high quality group design studies, five single case design, or a combination of one group design and three single case designed studies showed that the practice was effective. The full report is available on the NPDC on ASD website.

Naturalistic intervention meets the evidence-based practice criteria in the birth to elementary age groups with 10 single case design studies. For the infant and toddler age group, one single-subject design study included toddlers with autism and demonstrated positive outcomes in promoting the development of  communication (Ingersoll, et al., 2005). Naturalistic intervention has been used effectively to address social, communication, behavior, joint attention, play, and academic skills. A complete list of the research evidence-base literature for children aged birth to five is included in the Module Resources section.

Refer to the Naturalistic Intervention Fact Sheet from the updated EBP report for further information on the literature for naturalistic interventions.