**10. Conclusion**

sense of self. In the study the authors chose age and functionally appropriate activities for helping a child achieve the given milestones for social behavior. The individual ses‐ sions during which the adult followed the child's lead, prompted and encouraged the child effort to participate, and provided the opportunity to practice the skill with a peer contributed to the significant increase in each child's performance from pre to post inter‐

According to the Colorado guidelines [24] early intervention strategies must involve build‐ ing of positive relationships between adults (parents and caregivers) and the infant or tod‐ dler. The intent should be to teach the child that parents and caregivers can be relied on as stable, secure, and safe figures that provide nurturance, comfort, pleasure and guidance. De‐ veloping attachments is a challenge for a young child with ASD, so special efforts are re‐ quired, even when signs of a child's interest are not apparent. This might require that a parent or caregiver identify the activities, objects, settings, and interactions that the child finds pleasurable and provide those events and items to the child contingent on a social in‐ teraction behavior (rather than non-contingently in a manner meant to keep a child satisfied without social interaction). A tickle game might be initiated with a child and then interrupt‐ ed by the caregiver with the expectation that the child look at the adult or repeat a gesture to continue. A key objective of efforts to form positive relationships is to ensure that the inter‐ actions are pleasurable and that they are associated with the child receiving input that is consistent with needs and interests. Importantly, successful efforts to form strong, positive bonds when a child is very young result in a subsequent relationship in which an adult has considerable influence over a child's behavior and this influence can be essential for the guidance and instruction that the adult (parent or other caregiver) must provide on an ongo‐ ing basis. The floor time intervention addressed the issues mentioned above. Activities se‐ lected were simple and manageable for the children. Most activities were demonstrated before the child was required to participate. For children with autism, visually organized tasks are easier to learn [25]. During intervention the adult often provided model/picture of a task to be done e.g. block tower, completed puzzle, picture and symbol cards etc. Interven‐ tion sessions were built around child's motivation and interests. Most early intervention programs for children with ASD are based on behavioral approach and use discrete trial training. Though evaluations have shown acquisition of learning and behavioral develop‐ ment in several children [26], behavioral approach does not suit all children and families. Strict protocol of timing, intensity, structure, and quality of therapist training influences the success of behavioral interventions. In contrast, floor time encourages naturalistic interac‐ tions to develop the core skills. It takes into account the inherent bonding and affection pa‐ rents have for the child, and guides the parent to modify and channelize their interactions to suit the developmental level of the child. As stated earlier, the children selected for the study attended pre-school and intervention clinics. Thus control group children also re‐ ceived early intervention while floor time intervention was given to the experimental group. However, the experimental group children performed better on selected social skills at the end of the intervention period. The significantly higher achievement of social skills by ex‐ perimental group children may be attributed to the child-centric naturalistic interactions

vention on BSFS.

714 Recent Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorders - Volume I

that occurred during the floor time intervention.

Early intervention is very important for enhancing the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities, and they are especially crucial in determining the future language, social and behavioral outcomes of very young children with ASD [27]. A primary consideration of programs for young children with ASD is to provide an environment that is designed to prevent problem behaviors, promote engagement and participation, and facilitate successful interactions with typically developing peers. Getting the child to engage with materials and activities may prevent challenging behavior occurrence and promote appropriate social be‐ havior [28]. Results of this research support the above findings. Floor time principles state that development begins with a shared world between the caregiver and the young child. The goal is to help the child with ASD emerge from its own world and enter this shared world in order to develop his or her functional and emotional capacities. Floor time achieves this by encouraging child to engage in age and level appropriate play activities with adults and later with peers. The outcomes indicate the effectiveness of Floor time as a method for early intervention of children with autism. The findings of the study may be useful for fami‐ lies who are in need of evidence based and suitable early intervention for children with ASD.
