Behavioral Intervention Therapies Positive for Children With Autism

New research suggests that behavior-focused therapies have positive results for some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to an updated AHRQ research review. The update found that the quality of research studies on these therapies has improved since AHRQ's 2011 review of studies on ASD, and that many young children who receive early intervention with intensive, long-term applied behavior analysis types of approaches showed improvements in cognitive and language skills, compared with children receiving other interventions. The size of these effects varied in different research studies, likely because of differences in the children participating in the studies, according to the review,“Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Behavioral Interventions Update.” It indicated that the effects of the applied behavior analysis-based interventions on ASD symptoms related to communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors are less clear. Therapies focusing on social skills showed some positive effects on social behaviors for older children in small studies.