This paper reviews evidenced-based interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) across the disciplines of psychology, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and developmental pediatrics. Background: rates of ASD diagnoses have been steadily rising over the past 2 decades. There are a wide range of therapies and interventions, of varying levels of evidence, across disciplines that are now available to treat children with ASD. The field has moved toward a greater emphasis on the identification and utilization of evidenced-based treatments. Methods: a review and summary of recent literature was conducted by professionals in an interdisciplinary autism center. An emphasis was placed on results of the National Autism Center's National Standards Project. Results and Conclusions: within each discipline, interventions exist that vary in level of evidenced-based support. Although disciplines may differ in their definitions of evidence-based treatments, it is important for each discipline to strive to offer and promote practices with the best evidenced-based support according to each field's standards.
#1Amie Duncan(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)H-Index: 14
#2Lisa A. Ruble(UK: University of Kentucky)H-Index: 24
Last. Lori J. Stark(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)H-Index: 41
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Daily living skills deficits are strongly associated with poor adult outcomes for individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder, and yet, there are no group interventions targeting dai...
#1Jon Baio(CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 18
#2Lisa D. Wiggins(CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 21
Last. Nicole F. Dowling(CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)H-Index: 31
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Problem/condition Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Period covered 2014. Description of system The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is an active surveillance system that provides estimates of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children aged 8 years whose parents or guardians reside within 11 ADDM sites in the United States (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin). A...
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with lifelong impacts. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to ASD etiology, which remains incompletely understood. Research on ASD epidemiology has made significant advances in the past decade. Current prevalence is estimated to be at least 1.5% in developed countries, with recent increases primarily among those without comorbid intellectual disability. Genetic studies have identified a number of rare de novo mutat...
#1Paul Wehman(VCU: Virginia Commonwealth University)H-Index: 58
#2Carol Schall(VCU: Virginia Commonwealth University)H-Index: 15
Last. Lauren Avellone(VCU: Virginia Commonwealth University)H-Index: 7
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The purpose of this study was to develop and investigate an employer-based 9-month intervention for high school youth with autism spectrum disorder to learn job skills and acquire employment. The intervention modified a program titled Project SEARCH and incorporated the use of applied behavior analysis to develop Project SEARCH plus Autism Spectrum Disorder Supports. A randomized clinical trial compared the implementation of Project SEARCH plus Autism Spectrum Disorder Supports with high school ...
Group-based social skills interventions (GSSIs) are widely used for treating social competence among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but their efficacy is unclear. Previous meta-analysis of the literature on well-designed trials of GSSIs is limited in size and scope, collapsing across highly heterogeneous sources (parents; youths; teachers; observers; behavioral tasks). The current meta-analysis of randomized control trials (RCTs) was conducted to ascertain overall effectiveness of GS...
This chapter reviews the current knowledge about the prevalence of and risk factors associated with anxiety disorders in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prevalence rates for a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder are considered only from studies that use clinical diagnostic interviews. We report that anxiety disorders are common in individuals with ASD and overall prevalence rates for anxiety disorders as an aggregate group range between 42% and 79%. The prevalence rates for individ...
Abstract Anxiety is one of the most common presenting problems for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and causes greater impairment than the symptoms of ASD alone. Despite the increased risk for anxiety disorders in ASD, there is limited research on the assessment of anxiety in this population, relative to the large body of literature on anxiety in typically developing children. This may be due, in part, to the difficulty of assessing anxiety in ASD. Anxiety is a multifaceted construct in...
Anxiety has been recognized as a significant presenting feature associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) since the first clinical descriptions of ASD, with more recent prevalence studies confirming elevated rates of anxiety in this population across the lifespan compared with the general population. However, elevated anxiety symptoms do not form part of the core ASD diagnostic criteria and clinically significant anxiety is not universally present in all individuals with ASD. Clinically, pr...
Last. Daniel L. Coury(OSU: Ohio State University)H-Index: 29
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OBJECTIVES: Anxiety is one of the most prevalent co-occurring symptoms in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The assessment and treatment recommendations proposed here are intended to help primary care providers with the assessment and treatment of anxiety in ASD. METHODS: The Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network/Autism Intervention Research on Physical Health Anxiety Workgroup, a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and researchers with expertise in ASD, developed the clinical recomme...
The use of technology in intervention and instruction for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing at a striking rate. The purpose of this paper is to examine the research literature underlying the use of technology in interventions and instruction for high school students with ASD. In this paper, authors propose a theoretical and conceptual framework for examining the use of technology by and for adolescents with ASD in school, home, and community settings. This framework i...
Evidence-based practice (EBP) reviews abound in early childhood autism intervention research. These reviews seek to describe and evaluate the evidence supporting the use of specific educational and clinical practices, but give little attention to evaluating intervention outcomes in terms of the extent to which they reflect change that extends beyond the exact targets and contexts of intervention. We urge consideration of these outcome characteristics, which we refer to as "proximity" and "bounde...
#1Amie Duncan(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)H-Index: 14
#2Jareen Meinzen-Derr(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)H-Index: 39
Last. Lori J. Stark(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)H-Index: 41
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Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without an intellectual disability have daily living skills (DLS) impairments. An initial feasibility pilot of Surviving and Thriving in the Real World (STRW), a group intervention that targets DLS, demonstrated significant improvements. A pilot RCT of STRW was conducted to extend these findings. Twelve adolescents with ASD were randomized to the treatment or waitlist groups. The treatment group had significant DLS improvements on the Vineland Adap...
Abstract Both developmental, individual, relationship-based (DIR®) and creative arts therapy (CAT) intervention methods have demonstrated positive effects for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, they have not been evaluated in combination. The study evaluated whether a DIR®-based CAT program met its stated goals to stimulate individualized social-emotional growth for children with ASD. A summative, longitudinal program evaluation research design was used to examine the prog...
Social Stories (SS) is a widely used intervention for children on the autism spectrum. A search of databases (CINAH EBSCO, A+Eductaion, ERIC, Education Source, PsyINFO, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, and ABI Inform Global) identified that, since its development over 25 years ago, the research exploring SS has been reviewed 17 times. These reviews include synthesis of literature; systematic reviews, meta-analyses; comparative reviews; and descriptive reviews. A scoping review of ...
Abstract null null Youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often engage in aggressive and other disruptive behaviors that interfere with important aspects of their lives, such as family, friends, and school. Effective treatments are needed to address the wide variety of risk factors that contribute to disruptive behaviors in this population of youths. Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a comprehensive family- and community-based treatment approach that has been effective in reducing problem behav...
Purpose Persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may demonstrate abnormal prosodic patterns in conversational speech, which can negatively affect social interactions. The purpose of this systema...
BACKGROUND: Executive dysfunction is prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including prominent difficulties in the two facets of inhibition, as well as with selective attention. School-based mindfulness has been used in typically-developing children to improve executive functioning, though this has not been investigated in children with ASD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a school-based mindfulness program for improving inhibition (prepot...
Abstract Background Parents of children with an autism diagnosis frequently described the excessive costs and inordinate amount of time associated with coordinating autism – specific treatments. These ongoing sources of stress have adverse effects on parents’ personal wellbeing. Findings suggest that the systems of care aimed at improving outcomes for children with autism may, in fact, negatively affect their parents. Further research is necessary to evaluate the degree to which system – level v...
AbstractThe expanding practice of multi-disciplinary care to address the complex nature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) suggests that there is a need for a means of coordinating care that transce...