Autism Spectrum

Effective Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder
"The earlier a child starts getting help, the better. The current research supports Individual applied behavior analysis (ABA) for the treatment of autism. This can be conducted with or without parent training or by a teacher in classroom settings. It often helps to have a direct support professional and provide specialized interventions on communication. ABA has consistently been shown to help, but there is varying degrees of support for different types of youth outcomes."
https://effectivechildtherapy.org/concerns-symptoms-disorders/disorders/autism/#effective-treatments

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

What Works

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Behavioral intervention aimed at improving cognitive, language, communication, and socialization skills characterized by on-going and objective measurement of behaviors, implementation of individualized curricula, selection and systematic use of reinforcers, use of functional analysis to identify factors that increase or inhibit behaviors.

Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)

Behavioral intervention based on principles of operant learning; incorporates units of instruction used to teach and assess acquisition of basic skills.

Incorporates same sequential components regardless of skills taught.

Pivotal Response Training (PRT)

Focuses on the most disabling areas of a child’s autism by teaching children

to respond to multiple environmental cues, increasing motivation, increasing

capacity for self-management, and increasing self-initiations.

Learning Experiences: An Alternative

Peer-mediated interventions in an educational setting with children with

Program (LEAP) autism. Individualized, data-driven, and focused on generalizing learning

skills across context through saturation of learning opportunities throughout day. Family involvement is a significant part of this intervention.

Pharmacological Treatments

May be considered for maladaptive behaviors when symptoms cause

significant impairment. Antipsychotics may be used to treat aggression.

What Seems to Work

Educational and Communication- focused Interventions (TEACCH)

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication related handicapped Children) provides strategies that support the individual throughout his or her lifespan, facilitates autonomy at all levels of functioning, and accommodates individual needs.

Natural Language Methods

Speech and language pathologists often integrate communication training

with the child’s behavior program to provide a coordinated opportunity for

structured and naturalistic language learning. Instruction is designed to

provide a generative tool that will serve needs throughout the child’s life.

Picture Exchange Communication

Helps children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) acquire functional

System (PECS) communication skills. Children using PECS are taught to give a picture of a desired item to a communication partner in exchange for the item, thus linking an outcome with communication.

Other Behavioral Interventions

Joint attention behavior training, which may be especially beneficial in young, pre-verbal children, shows promise for teaching children with autism behavioral skills. Social skills groups, social stories, visual cueing, social games, video modeling, scripts, peer-mediated techniques, and play and leisure curricula are also supported by the literature.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy helps develop self-care skills and shows promise in promoting play skills and establishing routines to improve attention and organization.

What Does Not Work

• Hormone Therapy: Secretin
• Avoiding Immunizations
• Research has shown secretin does not help with any autism symptoms.
• A new study evaluating parents’ concerns of “too many vaccines too soon” and autism has been published online in the Journal of Pediatrics (March 29, 2013). It adds to the conclusion of a 2004 comprehensive review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that there is not a causal relationship between certain vaccine types and autism.