A Program Description of a Community-Based Intensive Behavioral Intervention Program for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) impact all areas of a person’s life resulting in deficits in language, social behavior, and intellectual abilities as well as the development of repetitive behaviors that can greatly restrict access to the community and quality of life. Intensive behavioral intervention (IBI) has repeatedly been shown to be effective in improving functional skills and intellectual scores as well as minimizing problem behaviors in individuals diagnosed with ASD. In previous studies, some children who received intensive behavioral intervention became indistinguishable from their peers and were served in typical educational environments with no supplemental supports. However, the majority of the published studies on this intervention describe university-affiliated grant funded programs. This program description provides details about a private community-based agency that provides IBI for children and adolescents with ASD. Information about staff training, the therapies implemented, the population served, and instructional and programmatic content is offered and a preliminary analysis is provided of the outcomes achieved for a subsample of the clients served (i.e., 64 of 181). These findings suggest that increases in functional skills and intellectual scores were achieved for all clients and that many clients met criteria similar to those established in prior landmark studies.