Comparative Effectiveness of Intervention Therapies for Neurodivergent Children Aged 2-8 Years in Urban Bangalore

This research investigates the comparative effectiveness of intervention therapies for neurodivergent children aged 2-8 years in urban Bangalore, with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). With Multiple available interventions that can be used for children with Autism, this research aims to understand empirically if a child should be given individual therapy or if multiple therapies will be more beneficial for the overall development of the child. The study compares the developmental outcomes of children receiving Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy alone versus a combination of ABA and Occupational Therapy (OT) for neurodivergent children. A mixed-methods approach is used to measure the developmental progress of the children taking single or multiple therapies. The Quantitative results showed that children receiving combined therapies achieved developmental goals significantly faster (M = 48.75 days) than those receiving ABA alone (M = 84.7 days) with Mean Difference of 35.95 days. The independent t-test indicates statistical significance (t(38) = 4.75, p < 0.001, Cohen?s d = 1.50) for combined data. The Pearson correlation is r = -0.964 between the number of therapies (1 = ABA, 2 = ABA + OT) and mean developmental time indicates a strong negative correlation, further supporting the hypothesis that additional therapies reduce time to master the skills. A simple linear regression (? = -35.45, p < 0.001) was conducted with the number of therapies as the predictor and days to mastery as the outcome variable. The regression model was significant, indicating that combined therapy ABA + OT reduced the time to achieve developmental goals by approximately 35.45 days. Survival Analysis using Kaplan-Meier method (Median difference = 29 days, p = 0.005) and Cox Proportional Hazards Regression (HR = 2.14, p = 0.0053) reinforces our hypothesis that ABA + OT yields faster developmental outcomes. Qualitative feedback from parents and therapists underlines the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach and the need for parental involvement. These findings highlight that integrating ABA and OT helps enhance developmental outcomes in neuro-developmental children aged 2-8 Years in urban settings.