Social Learning Processes Underlying Treatment-Related Changes in Children with ASD Receiving the Early Start Denver Model

Background: Social learning, i.e. the transmission of behavior from one person to another, requires the successful deployment of multiple attentional, cognitive and motivational processes. Understanding the specific components and mechanisms of social learning that are involved in response to early intervention in children with ASD is critical to select, refine and individualize educational procedures in this population. 

 Objectives:   To identify the specific social learning processes that moderate and mediate response to the Early Start Denver Model in preschoolers with ASD.

 Methods:   A number of novel experimental eye-tracking and behavioural tasks aimed at ‘dissecting’ the different attentional, cognitive and motivational processes underlying social learning were administered to a group of preschoolers with ASD receiving the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) program (anticipated final sample size = 50). Participants were tested at baseline and after one year of treatment. The link between performance in the tasks and 1-year treatment outcomes will be analyzed to determine the specific social learning processes that underlie response to the ESDM. 

 Results: Data collection and analysis is still ongoing. Preliminary findings based on a subset of participants suggest that social motivational processes underlying social learning, including spontaneous propensity to imitate others, spontaneous purposeful (versus purposeless) use of play materials, and social response to a playful- versus an emotionally-neutral partner, are more relevant in predicting ESDM treatment outcomes than attentional and cognitive learning mechanisms, initial IQ and language.

 Conclusions: This is the first research program to examine the link between social learning profiles in children with ASD and treatment outcomes in response to the Early Start Denver Model through a fine-grained, theory-driven analysis of the multiple components underlying social learning. Preliminary results of this ongoing study suggest that spontaneous propensity to engage with and imitate others might be a critical active ingredient in the response of children with ASD to the ESDM.