An Evaluation of Education-Based Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders Without Intellectual Disability: a Systematic Review

Many interventions designed to improve educational outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been published, yet there has not been an adequate review of interventions in school settings assessed against student outcomes. We reviewed empirical literature published 2000 to June 2019 that evaluated school-based interventions applied to students formally diagnosed, with an IQ > 70, and who were attending kindergarten/pre-school, primary, or secondary school. Interventions most commonly targeted skills in six areas: academic skills, on-task behaviour, play behaviour, social cognition, social interaction, and verbal skills. Results indicated significant improvement in each area. Generalization and maintenance were not consistently evaluated. Few studies included female participants and few reported on participant race; of those that did, the majority were Caucasian. Further research, utilizing larger samples and more stringent statistical approaches, is needed to identify the most efficient and effective interventions to improve educational outcomes for this population.