Our Innovative Model Improves Outcomes for Young Children with Autism
NYCIT has had a long standing partnership with a national major researcher at UCLA, Dr. Connie Kasari, a leading expert in the field of interventions for young children with Autism. Together with Dr. Kasari and her team from UCLA- NYCIT participated in two randomized control studies, examining the effectiveness of adding a targeted play based intervention — JASPER — focused on social communication and joint attention – to an existing ABA Curriculum.
The research has resulted in significantly improved outcomes in social communication and play skills for young children with Autism and has produced a peer reviewed journal article.
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Few community programs have been able to successfully engage academic partners in bringing evidence based programs to fruition like NYCIT.
Dr. Connie Kasari
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Children at NYCIT have been the beneficiaries of a powerful partnership between NYCIT and researchers at UCLA who have successfully tailored the NYCIT program to further improve language and cognitive outcomes in young children with Autism.
Dr. Connie Kasari
The Results
Researchers found that children who received JASPER in addition to ABA had proven better outcomes based upon a randomized control trial as reported in a peer reviewed journal article in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry showing that two-year-old children with Autism receiving JASPER in addition to ABA had significantly better outcomes in social communication and play skills than children who received ABA and an unstructured socialization group. Other studies conducted by Dr. Kasari report similar better outcomes for young children who received JASPER in addition to ABA as compared to children who received ABA alone.
Spoken Language
41% of the children began to use spoken language after JASPER intervention.
Only 12% of the children in the wait list group began to use spoken language during the study.
Non-Verbal Language
(Including the use of high level gestures to share such as pointing to, showing and giving items.)
37.5% of the children used high level gestures to communicate after JASPER intervention.
Only 1.8% of the children in the wait list group used high level gestures.
Joint Engagement
(Child initiated engagement with others.)
A 40% improvement in the ability to engage with others was observed for the group of children that received JASPER intervention.
Only a 4% improvement was noted in the wait list group.
Functional Play
The children in the group that received JASPER intervention played functionally
with toys, teachers, and peers 57% of the time.
Children in the wait list group played
functionally for only 2% of the time.
New York Center in the News
Read about our success in Autism treatment
Autism Speaks
‘Real world’ autism interventions for home and school
An interview conducted by Autism Speaks with psychologist Connie Kasari, discussing her work with New York Center and her groundbreaking methods for fostering social skills and language in young children with autism.
Spectrum News
Experimental autism treatments put to test in the real world.
An article focusing on New York Center’s cutting-edge interventions designed for children with Autism in partnership with UCLA.
UCLA Newsroom
Preschoolers with autism show gains after play-based program
A UCLA publication highlighting the success of New York Center’s implementation of JASPER in our schools in Harlem and the Bronx.
Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry
Hybrid implementation model of community-partnered early intervention for toddlers with autism: a randomized trial
New York Center’s peer reviewed journal article in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.