Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

In the second paper, 89 treatment sessions were coded for emotional and motivational
responsiveness (i.e., joy, emotional synchronicity, initiation of engagement) toward attunement
promoted by the therapist and for responsiveness (i.e., social invitation and interpersonal
demands) toward the therapist’s initiation of interaction during joint attention episodes within
selected four-minute segments of four treatment sessions. More joy, emotional synchronicity,
and initiation of engagement were observed during music therapy than play sessions. In addition,
children had significantly more compliant behavior and significantly fewer episodes of no
response behaviors in the music therapy condition.
Additional Allied Health Interventions
A number of studies addressing interventions such as animal-assisted therapies and assistive
tools met our review criteria.
Content of the literature. We found eight studies 272-279 addressing additional allied health
interventions. Two papers report similar interventions and participants recruited from similar
locations and may include overlapping participants. 275,277 Treatment duration ranged from 47
days 278 to 21 weeks, 279 and participants ages ranged from 3 to 18 years. 273 Table 23 provides
additional study details. All studies in this section were considered poor.
Summary of the literature. Bass and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial
investigating the potential benefits of therapeutic horseback riding sessions in 34 children with
ASDs assigned to either a horseback riding group (n=19, mean age 6.95 yrs ±1.67) or wait-listed
group (n=15, mean age 7.73 yrs±1.65). 276 Children in the riding group attended sessions of 1
hour per week over 12 weeks. Scores on four of the five Sensory Profile subscales (sensory
seeking, inattention/distractibility, sensory sensitivity, and sedentary), along with the overall
Sensory Profile mean score, showed a significant between-group difference. The overall Social
Responsiveness Scale score and social motivation subscale also showed a significant betweengroup
difference.
A nonrandomized controlled trial investigated the effect of movement therapy on behavior
among children with ASDs. 274 Children were recruited from specialized schools and underwent
30-minute movement training sessions twice a week for 2 months. Behavior was recorded during
the first and last meetings for 6 one-minute periods, in 10-second sample units. Eight behaviors
were assessed: stereotypical behaviors, wandering, responding to touch negatively, on-task
passive, on-task active, eye contact, social relatedness towards the teacher, and resisting the
teacher. Of these, four exhibited significant changes: a decrease in wandering, responding to
touch negatively, resisting the teacher, and an increase in on-task passive behavior.
Two prospective case series focused on the effect of incorporating colored overlays to assess
effects on reading in children with ASDs. 275,277 In the initial study, 277 participants attended one
session with researchers and performed reads of 30 seconds and 1 minute. Children with autism
read significantly more words per minute with than without colored overlays. Seventy-nine
percent of children with ASDs showed improvement in reading with colored overlays. 277 In a
later study, 275 Ludlow and colleagues conducted three individual tests to assess the therapeutic
benefits of colored overlays when reading; results showed more words read using overlays and
slightly better performance on a picture matching task using overlays.
One prospective case series aimed at identifying the effect of therapeutic sessions
incorporating animal interaction among children with ASDs. 272 Therapy sessions focused on
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