THE COMMUNITY-BASED EARLY INTERVENTION PROCESS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

Assisting children with autism and their families to achieve positive outcomes is a continuous and ongoing process. The community-based early intervention is an effective strategy which brings opportunities for children to integrate in daily life, it also facilitates the generalization of skills beyond the familiar home setting and across the child’s natural environment. A communitybased early intervention process developed by the Psychiatry Department, National Hospital of Pediatrics has 4 steps: (1): Evaluation and classify the severity of disorder; (2): Parent / primary caregivers training; (3) Intervention in three types of services: Special centers; kindergartens plus individual sessions; home; (4) periodic follow up. Evidence-based practice involves the multidisciplinary treatment approach of different available resource: children and their families, healthcare professionals, educators, and other service providers. It is suggested that a conjunction between ministries of Health, of Education and others should be made to unify the process and to spread it in community