The Denver Model ....

How many autism programs ARE there exactly?? It seems that once a week I learn about a new one. Actually, in fairness, I'd heard of this one before, but only recently did it really catch my attention.

As discussed in this New York Times blog, according to a recent study, the Denver model significantly boosted the IQ scores of participating children as compared to a control group of children receiving standard county services. As in, the standard group achieved a 4 point gain, while the test group rose 18 points.

It sounds like this model is not too dissimilar to Floortime, and I was very pleased to see that it sounds a lot like what we've been doing with our own son in our cobbled-together home-based therapy which is largely inspired by Floortime (and a few other things, like this fascinating book by Rutgers professor Lorraine McCune, this book, and of course The Mislabeled Child, and ... well, it turns out I haven't kept good track of all the articles and books etc., which I'm hoping this blog will help with.:)

Anyhow, I think I'll be taking a closer look at the Denver model's web materials, and maybe even reading the book -- so stay tuned ....

ps -- I was disheartened to read the one and only review of this book to show up so far on amazon.com. I think I'll look at it anyway out of curiosity, but I was sorry to read that one parent who already does interaction-based therapy thinks there is nothing new in this book. Still, I like that they did a STUDY, so I think I'll check it out anyway.