Questions To Ask Providers:

Clinical Practice Guideline, Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders Assesment and Intervention for Young Children, New York State Department of Health Early Intervention Program.

• What kinds of intervention, therapy, and services do you provide?

• Do you have a particular philosophy on working with children with autism/PDD?

• How many hours per week do these services require, and how much of this time is one-to-one time with the child?

• Please describe a typical day or session?

• What experience does the person who supervises the program have? How closely does the program supervisor work with the therapist, teachers, and parents?

• What kinds of ongoing training do your full- and part-time staff participate in?

• Are parents involved with planning as part of the intervention team?

• Do you provide a parent training program?

• How much and what kinds of involvement are expected from parents and family members?

• Are parents welcome to participate in or observe therapy and/or group session?

• What techniques do you use to manage difficult behaviors?

• Do you ever use physical aversives or any phyically intrusive procedures? If yes, please describe them.

• Please describe your programs for communication and language development. Do you use a picture communication system, sign language, other kinds of communication systems, or all of these?

• Are there opportunities for integration with typical and/or higher functioning children?

• How do you evaluate the child's progress, and how often?

• How do you keep parents informed of the child's progress?