Objective: To analyze the research hotspots, development trends and differences in behavioral interventions for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at home and abroad in the past 25 years, and to provide references for improving the intervention effects in the light of the current situation that the prevalence rate of ASD among children aged 0-6 years old in China has reached 1.8%. Methods: We searched the CNKI and Web of Science core ensemble databases for literature related to behavioral intervention methods for ASD from 2000 to 2024, used CiteSpace to cluster keywords, drew a knowledge map, and analyzed research hotspots and cutting-edge trends in the research disciplines based on the search results, and conducted comprehensive interpretation. Results: The number of Chinese and foreign publications has increased, and the growth rate of foreign publications is faster after 2018. The cooperation of domestic authors is scattered (3 core articles), while international core authors have published 32 articles with close cooperation. Domestic focuses on traditional techniques such as ABA, while foreign focuses on early intervention/social communication, emphasizing multidisciplinary integration. The proportion of cutting-edge technologies in foreign countries is 28% (5% in China), and the innovation is more significant. Conclusion: The diversity of domestic intervention methods is better than that of foreign countries (12 techniques vs. 8 techniques), but the depth of research (e.g., the effect of intervention on brain development) and technological innovation are lagging behind. In the future, we need to learn from the international “medicine-education-engineering” collaboration model to strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation and early intervention during the golden period of 0-6 years old.

Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, Behavioral Interventions, CiteSpace, Visual Analytics