Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Evidence Table. Therapies for children with ASD (continued)
Study
Description Intervention
Whalen et al.,
2010 (continued)
Author:
Adams et al.,
2009 (A)
Adams et al.,
2009 (B)†
Country:
US
Practice
setting:
Academic
Intervention
setting:
Clinic
Enrollment
period:
NR
Funding:
Defined protocol
followed:
Yes
Measure of treatment
fidelity reported:
No
Co-interventions held
stable during treatment:
NR
Concomitant therapies,
n (%):
G1: speech , language &
occupational interventions
delivered but values NR
G2: none
N at enrollment:
G1: 22
G1a: 6
G1b: 5
G1c: 5
G1d: 6
G2: 25
G2a: 7
G2b: 5
G2c: 6
G2d: 7
N at follow-up:
G1: 22
G1a: 6
G1b: 5
G1c: 5
G1d: 6
G2: 25
G2a: 7
G2b: 5
G2c: 6
G2d: 7
Intervention:
Phase I: Application of
lotion that contained
glutathione or placebo 1x
per day after bath, with
child rubbing it on for 7
days; all children received
oral DMSA at 10 mg/kg 3x
per day for 3 days
Phase II: children then
received either DMSA or
placebo for up to 3 rounds
(each round consisted of
3 days followed by 11
days of no DMSA/
placebo)
• Children who received
Inclusion/ Exclusion
Criteria/ Population
Inclusion criteria:
Phase I:
• Age 3-8 years
• ASD, diagnosed by a
psychiatrist, psychologist,
or developmental
pediatrician
• No mercury amalgam
dental fillings
• No previous DMSA or
other prescription
chelators
• No anemia or currently
being treated for anemia
due to low iron
• No known allergies to
DMSA
C-27
Baseline
Measures Outcomes
Overall ratings:
ATEC SPLC, mean ±
SD:
G1: 13.4 ± 7.7
G2: 12 ± 8.4
ATEC Total, mean ±
SD:
G1: 80.8 ± 24
G2: 66.2 ± 20.7
AWP/C composite
(sensory + ritual +
social pragmatic +
semantic + arousal +
fears + aggressive),
mean ± SD:
G1: 105 ± 58.6
(n=25)
Modifiers
15 children in G1
mastered lessons
in the software
program during
the 3 month study
period; no
significant
difference in
Brigance scores
between these
children and the 7
G1 children who
did not master a
lesson.
Significant
correlation
between time
spent on the
software and the
total number of
lessons mastered
in G1 (P = 0.01)
Overall ratings:
ATEC SPLC,
mean ± SD:
G1: 10.6 ± 7
G2: 10.5 ± 8.9
G1/BL: P <
0.001
G2/BL: P = NS
ATEC Total,
mean ± SD:
G1: 60.14 ± 27.9
G2: 53.4 ± 23.5
G1/BL: P <
0.001
G2/BL: P < 0.01
AWP/C
composite, mean