Associate Professor Deb Keen, from the Faculty of Education, said one of the most difficult problems affecting children with autism was their failure to engage with the world around them.

"For example, the child may spend hours tapping two sticks together with little or no interest in people or toys in the immediate environment. Attempts to engage these children in alternative activities often lead to challenging behaviour," she said.

"One in every 160 Australian children aged six to 12 live with an autism spectrum disorder so new strategies for management are essential."

The project will develop new procedures to engage children with autism in learning activities. This will enable educators to provide more effective interventions, autism-specific support at the earliest age possible.

"Prior research has shown that those who receive educational intervention before the age of four years significantly improve their chances of learning new skills and adapting to their environment, when compared with children who begin intervention at a later age."

The project will include a series of assessments to determine the effects of different learning environments on child engagement. Results will be used to design, implement and evaluate an educational intervention to increase active engagement while the child is learning a task.

"Improving educational outcomes by engaging these children in learning is critical if they are to achieve their full potential," Dr Keen said.

The cause of autism is unknown and the main impairments involve communication, social relating and repetitive and stereotyped behaviours and interests.

The three-year project is funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant with industry partner, the Autism Early Intervention Outcomes Unit (AEIOU) in Moorooka.