Research: Autism Treatment Survey: Services Received by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Public School Classrooms

Authored by Hess, KL, Morrier MJ, Heflin LJ, and Ivey ML in J Autism Dev Disord, Volume 38, Issue 5, p. 961-971, (2008).

Article summary (posted Jul 30, 2008):

The top five autism therapies used in the Georgia public schools are: Gentle Teaching, sensory integration, cognitive behavioral modification, assistive technology, and Social Stories.

This article reports the results of a survey performed to find out the types of treatments, therapies, and interventions used by teachers working with students with autism in Georgia's public schools. The therapies differed by grade level and classroom type. The authors found that fewer than 10% of the therapies used with students with autism in Georgia public schools are based on scientific evidence. They propose that teaches may be wasting time and funds on treatments that may not work. About 40% of the therapies used by the teachers were not even mentioned in a 2005 review of autism therapies.

Links:

You can access the original abstract and the complete paper is sometimes available for free via Google Scholar (look for entries that say "PDF" or "HTML" on the right side of the page).
assistive technology, autism, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), classroom, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), evidence-based medicine (EBM), Gentle Teaching, public school, review article, school, scientific evidence, sensory integration, social stories, therapy, treatment
Share |