Validity of early identification and early intervention in autism spectrum disorders: Future directions

The papers on early identification and early intervention for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in this scientific forum (published in volume 16(1) International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology) raise many important points, including describing the substantial progress made to date as well as analyses of current gaps and weaknesses in the existing evidence base. It is humbling to see the collective expertise of the distinguished authors contributing to this scientific forum including interdisciplinary perspectives and it is not surprising that there is ongoing debate on this important topic. In addition to discussing the points raised by these authors, this paper considers the implications of the new diagnostic criteria for ASD and for social communication disorder (SCD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) in the US. Differential diagnosis of ASD and SCD will be paramount in testing early intervention for ASD and the expertise of speech-language pathologists in identifying SCD in infants and toddlers will be a central feature of discovery for both early identification and for early intervention in the decades to come. Finally, a biomedical example on testing early intervention on a spectrum disorder, derived from diabetes, is presented to illustrate both the promise and the pitfalls in testing interventions in the absence of well-validated assessment and intervention paradigms.