Research summaries for autism therapy: systematic review

definition of systematic review: a systematic review is a thorough summary of the scientific literature on a specific topic
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Use of Peer-mediated Interventions in the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review, Summarized Sep 2, 2010

Peer-mediated intervention (PMI) may be very helpful for children with autism, and a strong research base supports use of PMI.

This review article was designed to describe all research in which therapy for children with autism was performed by the child’s peers. The review covered 42 studies that used PMI in the treatment of people with autism. Many of the studies did not measure whether or not the studied treatment plan was followed by the peers. Some studies did ask the questions: Did the treatment occur for at least 10 minutes? Are there at least 1 or 2 peers in the treatment? Was an adult there to watch the session? The authors note that future studies should focus on what level of PMI can be performed by children at each age.

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Systematic Review of Pharmacological Treatments in Fragile X Syndrome, Summarized Apr 29, 2010

Most of the studies that they reviewed were very small and therefore it was hard for the studies to see an effect from the drug if such an effect did exist. Most of the studies were also poorly designed. The authors noted that a poorly designed folic acid study showed promise that folic acid supplements (10 mg/day) may raise the IQ of young children with Fragile X syndrome. Read more...

Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review, Summarized Apr 6, 2010

There is currently not enough scientific evidence to determine if omega-3 fatty acids are safe and effective as a treatment for autism.

Omega-3 fatty acids are often used as a treatment for autism. This article reviews all published studies on the treatment effects of omega-3 fatty acids in children with autism. While there are no concrete studies that show that omega-3 fatty acids help with autism, the supplement appears to be safe. The studies that have been done so far raise hope that omega -3 fatty acids may help with autism and these studies should be followed with more research. The authors suggest that patients discuss the use of omega-3 fatty acids with their doctors before starting to use them.

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Behavioural and Developmental Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Systematic Review, Summarized Jun 29, 2009

Therapy choices for children with autism may be best guided by the needs of the individual child.

The authors looked at 101 research studies that tested the effectiveness of different types of behavioral therapy. The autism interventions included applied behavior analysis (ABA), Lovaas, TEACCH, and DIR. They compared three studies that were designed better than the others. Even though these studies were small, children who received intensive Lovaas treatment showed improvement in skills compared to those who received special education. However, the authors believe that the choice of behavioral therapies should be designed for the needs of the individual child because they feel there is no single therapy that works for every child. Read more...

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