24523
Cost Evaluation of an Early Intervention Program for Children with Autism
Objectives: The present study will estimate the potential cost-offset of one such early intervention program for children with ASD, the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) which is a comprehensive, naturalistic, developmental, behavioral intervention for very young children with ASD.
Methods: Data about service use were collected from the ESDM randomized controlled trial participants for both during the treatment and up to two and a half years post-treatment. These data provide a unique resource with which to evaluate the potential cost-offset of the intervention – that is, the extent to which the intervention reduces subsequent use of other services. These data allow evaluation of the relative cost of service use in two groups: one that received state-of-the-science early intervention and one that received community intervention. We will analyze data from the ESDM randomized controlled trial to determine whether ESDM treatment is associated with reduced health care and education service use and costs over two and a half years immediately following intervention.
Results: N/A. Analysis is ongoing.
Conclusions: N/A. Analysis is ongoing.