Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Evidence Table. Therapies for children with ASD
Study
Description Intervention
Author:
Jung et al., 2006
Country:
South Korea
Practice
setting:
Academic
Intervention
setting:
Clinic
Enrollment
period:
NR
Funding:
Korea Research
Foundation Grant
Author industry
relationship
disclosures:
NR
Design:
Prospective case
series
Intervention:
SIT (based on the virtual
reality tangible interaction
system, with three
components: coordination
ability measurement,
social skill training, and
sensory integration);
10 sessions, length NR
Assessments:
VCAA (a measuring
program for visuomotor
coordination ability, levels
controlled by the
therapist, breaking virtual
balloons with a real stick,
reaction accuracy,
movement of the stick,
and average reaction
time), SST (social skills
training) reaction time,
measured at each of 10
sessions
Groups:
G1: SIT intervention
G2: healthy controls
Provider:
Therapist
Measure of treatment
fidelity reported:
No
Co-interventions held
stable during treatment:
NR
Concomitant therapies:
NR
N at enrollment:
G1: 12
G2: 20
N at follow-up:
G1: 11
G2: 20
Inclusion/Exclusion
Criteria/Population
Inclusion criteria:
G1:
• Ages 5-6 years
• Met DSM-IV criteria for
autism
• Recruited from outpatient
unit at Children’s
Hospital in Seoul
G2:
• Unrelated healthy
children
• Recruited from a
kindergarten belonging
to a university in Seoul
Exclusion criteria:
• See inclusion criteria
Age, range (years):
G1: 6
G2: 5-6
Mental age, mean IQ:
G1: 64
G2: NR
Gender, n (%):
Male:
G1: 10 (83.3)
G2: NR
Female:
G1: 2 (16.6)
G2: NR
Race/ethnicity:
NR
SES:
Maternal education: NR
Household income: NR
Diagnostic approach:
Referral
Diagnostic tool/method:
DSM-IV
Diagnostic category, n
(%):
Autism:
G1: 12 (100)
PDD-NOS:
G1: 0
Aspergers:
G1: 0
C-279
Baseline
Measures Outcomes
Sensory:
VCAA reaction time,
mean:
G1: NR*
VCAA reaction
accuracy, mean:
G1: NR*
VCAA stick
movement, mean:
G1: NR*
Social Skills:
SST reaction time,
stopping balloon,
mean:
G1: NR*
SST reaction time,
moving balloon,
mean:
G1: NR*
SST reaction time,
reading mind, mean:
G1: NR
Sensory:
VCAA reaction
time, mean:
G1: NR*
G2: NR*
G1/BL: P = NS
G1/G2: P < 0.01
(healthy children
had lower reaction
times)
VCAA reaction
accuracy, mean:
G1: NR*
G2: NR*
G1/BL: P = NS
G1/G2: P = NS
VCAA average
reaction accuracy
by sound
stimulus, range:
G1: 51.9-60.2
VCAA stick
movement, mean:
G1: NR*
G2: NR*
G1/BL: P = NS
G1/G2: P < 0.01
(healthy children
moved the stick
more)
Social Skills:
SST reaction
time, stopping
balloon, mean ±
SD:
G1: 21.1 ± 10.9
G2: 17.6 ± 3.1
G1/BL: P < 0.05
(reaction time
decreased)
G1/G2: P = NS
SST reaction
time, moving
balloon, mean ±
SD:
G1: 15.8 ± 5.1
G2: 13.8 ± 3.1
G1/BL: P = 0.08
(reaction time
decreased)
G1/G2: P = NS