Effectiveness of a SCERTS Model-Based Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Hong Kong: A Pilot Study.

There was no control group, so the children's gains could reflect normal development, usual centre-based intensive care, or repeated testing. The SCERTS-based programme was delivered alongside full-day centre care, teacher-led SCERTS activities, weekly individual and group therapy, parent training, teacher coaching and quality monitoring, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The 5-month group had better baseline scores on several outcomes, which may bias comparisons even though baseline scores were statistically controlled. The sample was small and drawn from Hong Kong special childcare centres, so the results may not generalise to other Chinese contexts or settings. Attendance was not recorded, so the actual training hours each child received are uncertain. Educators' baseline SCERTS implementation skill, children's symptom severity and cognitive development level were not measured.

The paper does not give a separate funding or conflict-of-interest declaration. It states that the Heep Hong Society introduced SCERTS-based services in Hong Kong and launched the project.

Do not conclude that the SCERTS model alone caused the improvements. The children also received full-day centre-based intensive training and care, teacher-delivered SCERTS activities, weekly individual therapy, weekly group therapy, parent training, teacher coaching and quality monitoring, and there was no control group.