The Family Support Program: Description of a preventive, community-based behavioral intervention for children with pervasive developmental disorders

Because of extreme skill deficits and seriously challenging behaviors, many children, adolescents, and young adults with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders receive their education in residential schools. Thi s article describes an innovative model of service delivery that seeks to p revent "at-risk" students from being placed residentially and to return tho se who lived in residential schools to less restrictive settings. The Famil y Support Program is a joint project of the Massachusetts Department of Edu cation, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation and The May Inst itute, a private human services and behavioral healthcare agency. The progr am incorporates an applied behavior analysis orientation, with training and intervention implemented in a student's home and neighborhood community. T he organization and critical components of the Family Support Program are d escribed, including outcome data for seven participating students. Issues r elated to educational practices, preventive interventions, and community-ba sed research are discussed.