The Impact of Early Intervention

In an effort to illustrate the effects of early intervention on Asperger’s, consider the case of “Adam,” a 7-year-old boy that was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at the age of 4. Adam’s parents first noted that he had some deficits in his language development by the age of 3. When Adam started preschool at age 4, he often appeared withdrawn and would not interact with other children in the class. As a result of his social isolation, Adam’s language development continued to lag. In addition, Adam’s cognitive skills were not in line with children in his preschool class.

Adam’s diagnosis prompted an immediate recommendation for early intervention services. Supports provided through early intervention included speech therapy, occupational therapy and social skills training. Each of these supports was tailored to meet Adam’s unique needs.

As a result of early intervention services, Adam was able to enter Kindergarten where he was educated in a mainstream classroom. By the age of 6, Adam had acquired language skills similar to that of his peers. Additionally, Adam had erased the cognitive deficits that had been quite prominent in his preschool years.

Although Adam continues to struggle with social interaction, he has been able to essentially catch up to his peers in terms of language development and cognitive skills. Early intervention services made it possible to mitigate the impact of developmental delay such that many of the deficits experienced by Adam have been reversed. The early intervention is applied the better. As such, accurate and early diagnosis can be a boon for both parents and children.

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