New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline - Ministry of Health

Appendices
Parent-focused programmes
Hanen ‘More than Words’
‘More than Words’ is an autism-specific parent
education programme developed by the Hanen
Centre in Toronto, Canada. Its aim is to teach
parents to facilitate functional communication
in their young children through embedding
learning in everyday activities and routines.
It is based on social pragmatic developmental
and behavioural principles. Parents are taught
the strategies in groups. Feedback and coaching
are also given to parents in their own homes
through reviewing videotapes of parent–child
interactions. There is an emphasis on the use
of structure and visual supports to enhance the
child’s learning.
EarlyBird
Earlybird was developed by the National
Autistic Society in Britain. Its aim is to
support parents of children under five who
have autism in the development of general
management strategies and particularly with
social communication and the development of
appropriate behaviours. Parents meet in group
teaching sessions. They are also supported
through home visits where videos of the parent
interacting with his or her child are discussed.
At present, the evidence for the effectiveness
of music therapy is unclear 428 . Standardised
models of assessment in music therapy should
be considered for future development. No large
scale randomised control trial involving young
children with autism has been conducted. With
this level of evidence, broad claims about the
universal effectiveness of music therapy for all
children with autism must be met with caution
and tested through studies with appropriate
design and methodological rigour 129 .
Creative arts and drama therapy
Dramatherapy focuses on the healing powers of
drama, movement and theatre as it integrates the
mind, emotions and physical body. The therapy
encourages creativity and imagination for
learning, insight and growth. Dramatherapy can
also support the person to learn how to manage
social situations 429 .
At present, the evidence for the effectiveness
of both creative arts and drama therapy is
unclear. More research in the form of welldesigned
primary randomised controlled
studies of creative arts and drama therapy is
recommended.
Other parent focused programmes developed
by the National Autistic Society are ‘Spell’ and
‘Help!’ for children five years and over.
Programmes based on the creative arts
Music therapy
Music therapy uses music in a planned and
creative manner to promote good health and
to address physiological, emotion, cognitive
and social needs through the development of a
therapeutic relationship 129 . Music therapy has
also been promoted as an effective treatment
in facilitating communication by offering a
means by which alternative communication
can be established to help achieve engagement,
interaction and relationships 428 .
Appendices
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New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline