Transactional Models of ASD and Infant Interventions

A transactional model of autism is at the heart of infant toddler treatments, in which biology underlying autism is not deterministic, but rather probabilistic, and autism is not an inevitable outcome, but rather one possible outcome. Starting state differences may result in small changes that may or may not progress into the full syndrome, and environmental changes introduced early enough during the period of maximum brain plasticity may be able to partially or fully alter these initial differences and support much more typical development. Data from current intervention studies of infants 6-12 months and 12-24 months will be shared to illustrate the underlying model, its measurement challenges, and results.