Significant Findings, Phase 2

Findings Related to Interventions for Children and Adolescents:

Phase 2 of the National Standards Project (NSP2) reinforced the findings of Phase 1. For children and adolescents under age 22, there was even more empirical support for interventions that are behaviorally based.

We added two new categories of interventions and consolidated others to improve understanding of specific interventions. A detailed list of interventions is included in the Center’s newest publication, Findings and Conclusions: National Standards Project, Phase 2, was released in April 2015.

Findings Related to Interventions for Adults:

In spite of the burgeoning population of adults with ASD, there is little empirical research to guide intervention for this population. The overwhelming majority of research studies prior to the release of NSP2 focused on interventions for children and adolescents. In our review of all the existing adult intervention literature available at that time, only 27 studies met inclusion criteria for adults.

Because of the limited research on adult interventions, there was one Established intervention for adults identified in NSP2, as well as one intervention identified as Emerging.

More individuals with ASD than ever before are moving into adulthood and will require services, housing, and jobs. Because there has been so little research on adult interventions, the autism community has been able to provide only limited guidance related to best practices.

A number of the strategies we use with children and adolescents appear to also be effective with adults, delivered in a more developmentally appropriate way.

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