Neuroscience-informed early childhood intervention for children with intellectual disabilities: A review of current practices

Rapid neural plasticity during development creates opportunities for mechanism-linked intervention in children with intellectual disability and related neurodevelopmental conditions who frequently require coordinated support for cognition, communication, behavior, sensory processing, and family-mediated learning. This review aimed to map neuroscience-informed early-life and pediatric interventions, appraise their methodological quality, and identify gaps in mechanism, population, and translational readiness. PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, and Web of Science were searched for peer-reviewed English-language reports published from January 1, 2019, to January 15, 2024. Eligible studies involved children aged 0–18 years and included randomized trials, comparator-based prospective studies, secondary analyses of randomized-trial cohorts, and economic evaluations. Risk of bias was assessed using design-appropriate tools and certainty of evidence using GRADE. Twelve reports were included, comprising eight primary randomized-trial reports, one prospective cohort report, two secondary analyses of randomized-trial cohorts, and one economic evaluation. Reported sample sizes summed to 5,111, although some publications arose from shared cohorts. Evidence was categorized into neurochemical, sensory-oculomotor, caregiver-mediated, behavioral/self-regulation, systems-level, and early-life medical-risk pathways. iBASIS-VIPP and bifocal-lens interventions showed promising signals, whereas basmisanil demonstrated target engagement without clear cognitive benefit. Overall, developmentally timed, family-centered, and mechanism-linked interventions appear promising, but the evidence remains heterogeneous and frequently dependent on individual studies. Replicated trials with prespecified mechanistic outcomes, standardized developmental measures, longer follow-up, and implementation evaluation are needed.