Article By: Dr.T.Mary Minolin, Professor, Saveetha College of Nursing, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences.

Autism was originally defined by Leo Kanner in 1943 as an inability to create normal, biologically determined, emotional contact with others. The primacy of the social deficit is widely recognized and lack of social reciprocity is a central part of the diagnosis. According to the American Psychiatric Association autism is a neuronal development disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication, social interaction. Today, the CDC estimates 1 in 59 children (1 in 37 boys and 1 in 151 girls) as having autism spectrum disorder ASD. Statistics show that the number of children in India diagnosed with autism has been on the rise with the ratio being about 1:100. According to UNICEF there is no known cure for ASD. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) in early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have the potential to improve children’s developmental problem and address family needs. Evident in early intervention, where best practice guidelines and a wealth of developmental science research support the use of a combination of picture exchange card system (PECS) parent-implemented naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions. Brian Reichow.et al Early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI), a treatment based on the principles of applied behavior analysis delivered for multiple years at an intensity of 20 to 40 hours per week, is one of the more well-established treatments for ASD Early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), USA. Evidence based intervention is an effective practice for improving child communication, social, play and challenging behavior outcomes. Evidence based intervention also has been shown to decrease parental stress and improve the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions and also evidence that early behaviour analytic intervention can lead to measurable change in brain activity. As ASD prevalence rates rise, it becomes imperative for nurses in any setting, primary or acute care, to understand the unique challenges of this population. Children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents require extensive support and specialized care. The specialized nurse in taking care of children with autism is very minimal and also challenging task in health care setting. It needs much creativity and specialized skill to understand and recognize the needs of the children. Many previous studies have proven that the picture exchange system is an evidence-based intervention including Parent implementer intervention are determined the effectiveness in improving communication and socialization thereby to implement in the hospital setting in paediatric ward to handle the children with ASD effectively.