lit review

Behavioral interventions have been shown to be the most effective in mitigating the symptoms and effects of ASD. Instead of tackling the physical bases that might underlie ASD, behavioral interventions strive to bring about desired productive behaviors. The study by Roth et al. (2014) revealed a rate of 81% medium to high success among the 20 behavioral interventions surveyed. In their study of optimal outcome (OO) individuals, Fein et al. (2013) evaluated participants from across the United States and Canada. The researchers note that most of the 34 OO individuals in the study were faring well in their lives. Only a few of them showed signs of non-autism–related difficulties such as anxiety, depression, or impulsivity. Overall, most of the individuals in the study were from the Northeastern part of the United States, an area that has infrastructure for early behavioral interventions for ASD. At the very least, the conclusion that may be derived from this observation is that early behavioral intervention programs provide an environment that is conducive to the development of the OO individual. The results of the study by Anderson et al. (2017) reveal that behavioral interventions are effective in teaching vocational skills to adults with autism. Overall, these articles show that behavioral interventions are highly effective in improving the lives of adults with autism.

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