Some therapies use play and other activities to reinforce skills that autistic children often find challenging. Trials show these methods can change a child’s trajectory for the better, but the evidence base remains thin. To refine these early interventions, researchers are searching for their active ingredients and testing them in larger, longer-term studies.
Advancing early interventions for autism
Some therapies use play and other activities to reinforce skills that autistic children often find challenging. Trials show these methods can change a child’s trajectory for the better, but the evidence base remains thin.
By
Emma Bryce
9 February 2021 | 4 min watch
Animation by Lottie Kingslake; script by Emma Bryce
tags:
Recommended reading

Autism program chief among National Institutes of Health layoffs
By
Rachel Zamzow
21 February 2025 | 3 min read

Familiar autism-linked genes emerge from first analysis of Latin American cohort
By
Laura Dattaro
20 February 2025 | 5 min read

Depression perception; MYT1L mice; brain signal variability
By
Jill Adams
18 February 2025 | 1 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter

This paper changed my Life: Bill Newsome reflects on a quadrilogy of classic visual perception studies
By
Bill Newsome
21 February 2025 | 6 min read

Science must step away from nationally managed infrastructure
By
Dan Goodman
20 February 2025 | 7 min read

How to teach students about science funding
By
Ashley Juavinett
19 February 2025 | 8 min read
Cite this article: