Eleven boys (mean age: 55.9 months; age range: 45–69 months) and their mothers (mean age: 35.7 years; age range: 29–44 years) were recruited as participants.
The National Cheng Kung University Hospital internal review board approved the
study. Participants were recruited from the hospital clinic, private clinic, and the
early intervention centers through the distribution of research fliers. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents before enrolling their child in this
study.
None of the mothers had previously participated in training that incorporated
the DIR/FloortimeTM model. The children’s nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ),
evaluated using the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Roid &
Miller, 1997), varied from 67 to 122 (mean: 101.6; SD: 17.8). All of the children
had been diagnosed with an autistic disorder by a mental health professional according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR)
criteria (APA, 2000). The severity of disability was based on a combination of the
children’s verbal IQ scores (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and levels of
functional language and social adaptation (based on clinical observation or behavioral and adaptation scales). Additional characteristics of the sample are presented
in Table 1