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Clarifying Comments on the Young Autism Study
Reply to Schopler, Short, and Mesibov

Authors: O.Ivar Lovaas,  Tristram Smith and John J. McEachin
Source: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Volume 57, Issue 1, February 1989, Pages 165-167

Abstract: Lovaas (1987) has been criticized for overstating the outcome of an intensive behavioral intervention for young autistic children. Part of the criticism reflects skepticism of Lovaas’s view that it is possible to overcome autistic children’s deficits. However, Lovaas’s study built on a substantial body of research that has suggested just such a possibility. It also contained a number of methodological features that provide evidence supporting his interpretation of the outcome, notably, unbiased control groups and multiple pretreatment and follow-up measures.