ABSTRACT
In the United States, the availability of therapeutic interventions to remediate autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is subject to insurance coverage and deeply entangled with the public educational system. The child that receives a diagnosis of ASD before school age has access to an early intervention program (EIP), while children of school age who receive the diagnosis generally gain access to the programs at the school. Interventions may include a mixture of different philosophies, ranging from behavioral modification methods to developmental interventions (DIR) to some form of occupational therapy (OT). All approaches aim at changing the child's behavior into more socially appropriate manifestations. As such, they have many overlapping features with differences in how the ultimate goal is achieved. Despite availability of some of these therapies through the public school systems or in-home programs, there is a paucity of research on their true individualized effectiveness.
