Table 1.

A summary of study characteristics

Study	Exp. (N)	Cont. (N)	Age (months)	Type of Exp.	Exp. dosage	Exp. administrator	Caregiver involvement	Location	Outcome measurement
Dawson et al. [32]	48	21	54.1	ESDM	2 h each time, twice a day, 5 days a week, for 2 years	Trained therapists	Parents used ESDM strategies during daily activities	Center	ADI-R, ADOS, MSEL, PDD-BI, VABS
Dawson et al. [33]	39	21	23.9	ESDM	2 h per session, twice a day, 5 days per week, for 2 years	Trained therapists	Parent gave family intervention above 5 hours per week	Center	ADI-R, ADOS, MSEL, VABS, RBS
Estes et al. [34]	39	21	24	ESDM	A high level of intensity, for 2 years	Parents	Children only got in-home intervention	Home	DAS, VABS, ADOS, ABC, ADI-R
Gordon et al. [35]	26	28	81.6	PECS	Once a day, for 9 months	Teachers	No involvement	Elementary school	ADOS, COSMIC, Videotaped observation
Grindle et al. [36]	11	18	58.2	ABA	6 h each day, 5 days per week, for 2 years	Therapists	Generalization of acquired skills at home	Mainstream school	SBIS-4, LIPS-R, VABS, ABLLS, ABLLS-R
Hamdan [37]	13	13	102.0	DTT	35 min per session, 3 sessions a week, for 12 weeks	Teacher students	No involvement	Institution	NVCSS
Leaf et al. [38]	8	7	6.0	ABA	2 h per session, 32 sessions in total	Teachers	No involvement	Kindergarten	GARS-2, SSIS, SRS, WM, ABC, SVS
Li et al. [39]	17	18	38.0	ESDM	2 h a session, 1 session per day, 6 days a week, for 12 weeks	Teachers	2-h ESDM intervention at home per day	Department of developmental-behavioral pediatrics in hospital	ABC, CARS, CGI-S
Sallows et al. [40]	13	10	33.0	ABA	39 h a week in year 1	Therapists	Weekly supervision at home	School	VABS
					37 h a week in year 2
Smith et al. [41]	15	13	36.0	ABA	30 h a week, for 2-3 years	Student therapists	Cooperation with home visit and group visit	School	SBIS, RDLS, VABS, ACBQ WIAT, ELM, FSQ
Yan [42]	42	42	38.0	ABA	30-40 h a week, for 6 months	Therapist	No involvement	Hospital	ATEC, C-PEP, ASSS, PedsQLTM, ABC
Xu et al. [43]	16	20	47.5	ESDM	30 min a session, 2 sessions a day, 5 days a week, for 8 weeks	Teachers	No involvement	Center	CARS
Kong et al. [44]	20	20	54.0	PECS	30 min a session, 1 session a day, 5 days a week, for 6 months	Therapists	Cooperation with therapists on PECS	Department of developmental-behavioral pediatrics in hospital	C-PEP
Liu et al. [45]	25	25	55.0	PECS	1 session a day, 5 days a week, for 6 months	Therapists	No involvement	Department of developmental-behavioral pediatrics in hospital	C-PEP

Exp.: experimental group, Cont.: control group, ADI-R: Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, ADOS: Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, MSEL: Mullen Scales of Early Learning, PDD-BI: Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Behavioral Inventory, VABS: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, RBS: Repetitive Behavior Scale, DAS: Differential Ability Scales, ABC: Aberrant Behavior Checklist, SBIS-4: Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition, LIPS-R: Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised, ABLLS: Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, ABLLS-R: Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised, NVCSS: Non-verbal Communication Skills Scale, GARS-2: Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition, SSIS: Social Skills Improvement System, SRS: Social Responsiveness Scale, WM: Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment, SVS: Social Validity Survey, CARS: Childhood Autism Rating Scale, CGI-S: Clinical Global Impression-Severity, RDLS: Reynell Developmental Language Scales, ACBC: Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, WIAT: Wechsler Individualized Achievement Test, ELM: Early Learning Measure, FSQ: Family Satisfaction Questionnaire, ATEC: Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist, C-PEP: Psychoeducational Profile, ASSS: Autism Social Skills Scale, PedsQLTM: Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Measurement Model