INTENSITY
The number of hours of intensive behavioral intervention shown by research to be effective ranges between 20 to 40 hours per week in different studies. Within this range, the limited research available does not demontrate any clear relationship between the amount of intervention and the child's outcome.
However, "intensity" is more than simply the number of hours a child spends in intervention. More importantly, it depens on the quality of intervention provided during those hours. Because of this, the program will not set a specific number of hours for intensive behavioral intervention. The intensity of each child's program should be a clinical decision made by the program, based on the research, and taking into account the following factors:
-The child's age, tolerance for intervention, and other health factors (e.g, very young children may not be able to tolerate as many hours as somewhat older children);
-The child's developmental level, severity of the disorder and interfering behaviours (e.g., children with severe developmental delays or very aloof children with high levels of stereotypies, may require a higher number of hours of intervention)
-The stage of therapy the child is at and rate of progress made (e.g.: some children may begin with an intensive one-to-one program and then, when they show progress and develop some skills, they can benefit to a lower number of therapists and begin the program in school).
The intervention program is intensive by it's nature.
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ROMANIAN VERSION
