Autism Research

A three-year autism research study (July 1993 to June 1996) included a sub-sample of children with autism who enrolled in VCLC's center-based program at ages two or three. This initial study, designed by John Hicks, EdD., showed evidence that the Home School Collaborative Model (HSCM) increased the autistic children's rates of learning after 15 months in the program. Based on this research, the New York State Education Department designated the HSCM a New York State "Sharing Success Validated Program" in May 1997.

In June 2002, the sub-sample of autistic children had increased to 141 youngsters with Autism/PDD. The same analyses of the total data showed that the HSCM produced a statistically significant increase in these autistic children's rate of learning in the areas of language, social competence, cognitive and motor skills, and self-help skills after a period of 15 months.