UCLA Early Intervention Study for Toddlers with Communications Delays

Project:

ACE Project IV - Early intervention Study

Study Detail

Children with communications delays often find it difficult to include their parents when playing with a toy.This is troublesome because successful play interactions provide virtually endless opportunities for learning - particularly about social relationships and communication. As part of the Parent Education Program, we will take a close look at your child's behavior and find out what you can do to make play interactions more successful and gratifying.

Target audience:

This study is designed for toddlers between 16 and 24 months of age who show early signs of autism or show specific delays in communication.

Involvement:

Initial Screening: We will ask you to complete a questionnaire, participate in a phone interview and take part in one assessment session
Three visits to UCLA: Visits will be scheduled about 6 months apart. During each visit, we will evaluate your child's developmental progress in terms of play, social interaction and language.
Four home visits: Home visits will be scheduled about 6 months apart and used to conduct interviews with you
Early Intervention Program: About half of the children and their mothers will be invited to participate in 12 sessions of an experimental parent education program. Intervention sessions will be held in you home.

Pre-conditions:

Your child may be eligible to participate if you answer 'no' to several of the following questions:

Does your child take an interest in other children?
Does your child ever user his/her index finger to point, to indicate interest in something?
Does your child ever bring objects over to you (parent) to show you something?
Does your child imitate you?
Does your child respond to his/her name when you call?
If you point at a toy across the room, does your child look at it?

More information and application

Contact details:

Please contact the office of Dr Connie Kasari at 310-206-1268

IRB Flyer: