SynthesisAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research2023
Efficacy of very early interventions on neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants and toddlers at increased likelihood of or diagnosed with autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Parent-Mediated Interventions for ASD Under 3 Years: A Systematic Review, Meta Analysis, and Moderator Analyses.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Predicting early intervention outcomes in autism via individual participant data mega-analysis.Molecular autism · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative screening accuracy of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-Up (M-Chat-R/F) for early autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.Family medicine and community health · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of very early interventions on neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants and toddlers at increased likelihood of or diagnosed with autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2023Pooled it
- Short-term outcomes and six-month follow-up of BEAR: a blended, pre-emptive intervention for infants and toddlers at elevated likelihood for autism.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Failure points in the early autism identification pathway for children aged 0-5 years: Why screening is not diagnosis.Pediatric investigation · 2026Review
- Effects of Safe Early Intervention Approach: A 3-Year Follow-Up.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Advances in supporting development in autistic children and youth.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Review
- Converging neurotrophic-immune signaling in autism spectrum disorder: integrative roles of klotho, GDNF/GFRA-1, IGF-1 and GLP-1 pathways.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Review
- The therapeutic engagement index in autism: a hypothesis-generating framework for stratifying intervention responsiveness and adaptive therapeutic availability.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Parent-mediated early intervention in infants and toddlers at elevated likelihood for autism: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Early Parent-Mediated Training for Social-Communication Skills in Toddlers and Preschoolers With ASD: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Caregiver Perspectives on Telehealth Assessment and Other Supports for Infants with Early Developmental Concerns.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Article
- Sensory-movement underpinnings of lifelong neurodivergence: getting a grip on autism.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2025Article
- Parent attitudes towards predictive testing for autism in the first year of life.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2024Article
- A Developmental Social Neuroscience Perspective on Infant Autism Interventions.Annual review of developmental psychology · 2023Article
- Improving the Treatment of Neonatal Sepsis in Resource-Limited Settings: Gaps and Recommendations.Research and reports in tropical medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of very early interventions for infants and toddlers at increased likelihood of or diagnosed with autism for autism symptomatology, developmental outcomes and/or neurocognitive markers. Eight databases were searched (14 April 2022) with inclusion criteria: (i) RCTs with care as usual (CAU) comparison group, (ii) participants at increased likelihood of or diagnosed with autism and aged <24 months corrected age (CA), (iii) parent-mediated and/or clinician directed interventions, and (iv) outcome measures were autism symptomatology, cognition, language, adaptive skills, or neurocognitive assessments (EEG and eye tracking). Quality was assessed using Risk of Bias 2 and GRADE. Nineteen publications from 12 studies reported on 715 infants and toddlers. There was low to moderate certainty evidence that clinician-assessed outcomes did not show significant treatment effects for: autism symptomatology (ADOS CSS: MD -0.08, 95% CI -0.61, 0.44, p = 0.75), cognitive outcome (Mullen Scales of Early Learning-Early Learning Composite (MSEL-ELC): SMD 0.05, 95% CI -0.19, 0.29, p = 0.67), receptive language (MSEL-Receptive Language: SMD 0.04, 95% CI -0.21, 0.3, p = 0.74) or expressive language (MSEL-Expressive Language: SMD 0.06, 95% CI -0.1, 0.23, p = 0.45). Neurocognitive outcomes (EEG and eye tracking) were heterogeneous, with inconsistent findings. There is low to moderate certainty evidence that very early interventions have limited impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes by age 3 years.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.