Efeitos de um programa de intervenção precoce baseado no modelo mais que palavras - HANEN, para crianças menores de três anos com risco de autismo

In the last decades, studies on early intervention involving children with autism have suggested that there is no single intervention model capable of addressing the needs of all individuals in the spectrum. The role of parents as active intervention agents is, however, highly recommended. The More Than Words-HANEN Program has been specifically created for parents of children, under five years of age, who are in the autism spectrum. This intervention aims at improving the social competence and language comprehension of the child, as well as their parents empowerment. Until now only three studies have been performed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the HMTW program. The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effects of an early intervention program inspired on HMTW model on the level of caregiver responsiveness and child communication skills. The present study adds to the existing research literature on family-centered early intervention that uses a developmental paradigm. A two year boy in risk for autism, his mother and nanny took part in this investigation, which was carried out in the child´s home in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte. The caretakers were given one fifty-two hours of training, divided into thirteen weekly meetings. A quasi-experimental A-B-C design (baselineintervention- follow-up) showed improvement in the caretakers level of responsiveness and meaningful social-communicative gains in the child´s response

Computational Tracking of Mental Health in Youth: Latin American Contributions to a Low-Cost and Effective Solution for Early Psychiatric Diagnosis

The early onset of mental disorders can lead to serious cognitive damage, and timely interventions are needed in order to prevent them. In patients of low socioeconomic status, as is common in Latin America, it can be hard to identify children at risk. Here, we briefly introduce the problem by reviewing the scarce epidemiological data from Latin America regarding the onset of mental disorders, and discussing the difficulties associated with early diagnosis. Then we present computational psychiatry, a new field to which we and other Latin American researchers have contributed methods particularly relevant for the quantitative investigation of psychopathologies manifested during childhood. We focus on new technologies that help to identify mental disease and provide prodromal evaluation, so as to promote early differential diagnosis and intervention. To conclude, we discuss the application of these methods to clinical and educational practice. A comprehensive and quantitative characterization of verbal behavior in children, from hospitals and laboratories to homes and schools, may lead to more effective pedagogical and medical intervention