The behavioral treatment is one of learning by rewards or reinforcement. The developmental side advocates learning from increased interaction and responsiveness from a child with autism’s parent or caregiver.

Ingersoll said she is advocating a combined approach to treating autism because the two methods are similarly effective.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 110 children suffers from autism.

“In both approaches, intervention is conducted within the context of meaningful activities in the natural environment,” Ingersoll said. “Both approaches also use strategies to elicit initiations from the child.”

Each side takes a naturalistic reinforcement approach, meaning they attempt to keep children’s motivation high and stress the “reinforce trying,” Ingersoll said.

Although the opposing viewpoints are similar, they still have differences that might impact treatment effectiveness were they merged, she said.

Behavioral interventions, for instance, use a “prompting” technique with students, where the researcher will elicit the occurrence of an event for a reaction, she said.

Ingersoll said it is incompatible with a child’s responsiveness and conflicts with the developmental approach.

Developmental interventions use techniques such as increased affection from a parent or caregiver, which are not considered a treatment component in naturalistic, behavioral approaches.

To overcome this, Ingersoll said researchers should collaborate to see if a new method can be devised using elements from each approach.

“Research that can identify whether these combined interventions improve child outcomes is important,” Ingersoll said.

Psychology graduate student Allison Wainer said both developmental and behavioral approaches have effective intervention techniques. She said by combining the best elements of each, it might be possible to develop a more comprehensive approach.

Wainer said she currently works with Ingersoll on a study being carried out in Ottawa, Livingston and Clinton counties that focuses on early intervention techniques in children with autism.

“It is critical that we develop and implement effective autism intervention both in private clinics as well as homes, schools and other community settings,” Wainer said.

Neal Schmitt, chairman of the Department of Psychology, praised Ingersoll as a researcher and said she is very popular among departmental students.

“She’s excellent,” Schmitt said. “She’s doing very well.”