Table 1.
Participants’ pre-intervention measures.
| Measure | PB-ESDM (n = 26) | MDI (n = 25) | p | Cohen’s d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (months) | 43.65 (7.37) | 45.12 (4.8) | 0.41 | 0.24 |
| Gender (m:f) | 20:6 | 22:3 | ||
| SES | 2.92 (0.76) | 3.23 (0.99) | 0.22 | 0.35 |
| ADOS calibrated severity score | 7.11 (1.66) | 7.13 (1.78) | 0.98 | 0.01 |
| External treatment (h\week) | 0.73 (0.92) | 0.76 (1.09) | 0.92 | 0.03 |
| Prior exposure to MDI (%) | 36% | 40% | 0.77 | |
| MSEL DQ scores | ||||
| Total | 53.95 (18.74) | 46.86 (17.36) | 0.17 | 0.39 |
| Visual reception | 57.30 (19.3) | 51.39 (19.24) | 0.28 | 0.31 |
| Fine motor | 56.25 (15.21) | 51.32 (14.27) | 0.24 | 0.33 |
| Receptive language | 52.84 (24.77) | 43.01 (22.31) | 0.14 | 0.41 |
| Expressive language | 48.38 (23.33) | 41.16 (21.53) | 0.26 | 0.32 |
| VABS-II parent report | ||||
| Adaptive behavior composite | 70.12 (8.41) | 66.09 (7.74) | 0.09 | 0.49 |
| Communication domain | 74.8 (15.06) | 67.70 (13.31) | 0.09 | 0.50 |
| Daily living skills domain | 71.32 (10.55) | 67.65 (10.22) | 0.23 | 0.35 |
| Social skills domain | 71.04 (8.70) | 68.17 (10.16) | 0.30 | 0.31 |
| Motor skills domain | 76.40 (10.54) | 73.00 (7.42) | 0.21 | 0.37 |
| VABS-II teacher report | ||||
| Adaptive behavior composite | 68.67 (10.82) | 65.21 (9.74) | 0.59 | 0.34 |
| Communication domain | 69.04 (16.49) | 64.75 (15.88) | 0.34 | 0.27 |
| Daily living skills domain | 70.15 (14.57) | 66.71 (13.09) | 0.38 | 0.25 |
| Social skills domain | 65.08 (9.84) | 63.83 (7.99) | 0.62 | 0.14 |
| Motor skills domain | 74.89 (11.21) | 77.38 (13.27) | 0.48 | 0.20 |
All group comparisons were non-significant.
PB-ESDM: preschool-based Early Start Denver Model; MDI: multidisciplinary developmental intervention; MSEL DQ: Mullen scales of early learning developmental quotient, VABS-II: Vineland adaptive behavior scales, second edition; SES: socio-economic status (rated on a 1–5 scale, 1 being the lowest); ADOS: autism diagnostic observation schedule.