Research summaries for autism therapy: autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

definition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD): A diagnostic term that includes a range of neurodevelopmental disorders with varying degrees of severity. ASDs are marked by difficulty or impairments in communication skills and social interactions, and the presence of repetitive or stereotypical behaviors like hand-flapping. Autism disorder is the term for a severe form of autism on this spectrum. Autism spectrum disorders include autism disorder, Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegration disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). A late-onset form of autism (>3 years of age) has been designated childhood disintegration disorder. The term “autism” is usually used to describe disorders included on the autism spectrum.
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Effects of Modified Milieu Therapy Intervention on the Social Communicative Behaviors of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Nov 11, 2010

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques can be combined to help children replace aberrant behavior with functional communication skills.

The purpose of this study was to see if two therapies (milieu therapy and functional communication training) could be combined to help children replace bad behavior with language. The authors measured increased communication skills, decreased use of prompts, and decreased bad behavior in three young children with autism at home and in the classroom. They found that prompts decreased with the therapy. Communication increased and bad behavior decreased to almost zero with therapy. All of these skills were generalized to untrained settings and persons.

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Sensory Processing in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Summarized Oct 19, 2010

Sensory processing disorder may persist in adults with autism and perhaps should be addressed with treatment.

The aim of this study was to see if sensory processing disorder was common in adults with autism. This study compared levels of sensory processing in adults with autism with an age and IQ score matched group using a self-report measure of sensory processing (Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile – AASP). The authors found that adults with autism report high levels of sensory response compared to the control group. This is in contrast to a study that found that sensory processing issues decreased as children with autism became adults. The authors note that people with autism varied quite a bit with regards to their sensory processing disorder.

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Special Report: Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention Based on Applied Behavior Analysis among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Oct 12, 2010

While early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) seems to work for autism, there are not a lot of data to support its use.

This special report is a review of EIBI to treat autism. The review covered 16 studies that use this type of applied behavioral analysis (ABA). Only two of the studies had more than 50 children. None of the studies addressed treatment for Asperger syndrome. The authors note that autism can vary quite a bit from child to child and can change over time for each child.

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Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Primary Care, Summarized Oct 7, 2010

Effective medical treatment may allow a child with autism to respond better to educational and behavioral interventions as well as to other types of therapies.

Autism is a common, chronic disease and patients with autism require a medical home. Certain health factors may make autism worse and behavior worse. The purpose of this article is to describe how doctors can manage autism as a chronic disease. The main treatments for autism are behavioral and include applied behavior analysis (ABA). Drug therapy may be useful if target symptoms are severe and do not respond to behavioral interventions.

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Synonyms for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include: ASD, autism spectrum, autism spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorders, childhood disintegration disorder
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