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Evaluating the Efficacy of Pathways Early Autism Intervention on Social Orienting, Joint Attention and Social Language: a Randomized Control Trial

ClinicalTrials.gov · COMPLETED, 2025

58 participants

Abstract

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the efficacy of Pathways parent-mediated early autism intervention (Pathways) and a parent education intervention (PEI) delivered to culturally and linguistically diverse families with children 12-42 months of age suspected of or diagnosed with autism.

Question 1: Is Pathways more effective than a PEI at (a) fostering the development of social orienting, joint attention, and social communication and language in children with a research diagnosis of autism and (b) relieving their parents' stress?

Question 2: Is the magnitude of the relationship between early and later developing attention greater in children whose parents receive Pathways compared to children whose parents receive PEI?

Question 3: Is the magnitude of the relationship between joint attention and social communication and language greater in children whose parents receive Pathways compared to children whose parents receive PEI?

Participants will be randomized into 24 weeks of Pathways or PEI. Participants will receive a battery of assessments to evaluate the child's cognitive, social attention, social communication, language, and adaptive functioning, and parental stress at four different time points spaced every 12 weeks from baseline to three-month follow-up.

Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Primary outcome: Changes in child social orienting; Changes in child Joint attention; Change in child social communication; Change in child language; change in intentional…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 58 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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