Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Table 10. Outcomes of early intensive behavioral and developmental interventions (continued)
Author, year, country Age, mean (months) ±SD
Key outcomes
Groups, N enrollment/N
final
Study quality
IQ, mean ± SD
Eikeseth et al. 110,133
G1: 66.31 ± 11.31
• Analysis of change scores demonstrated more
2002, Norway
G2: 65 ± 10.95
improvement for G1 regarding IQ and language.
• G2 scores were higher at baseline across most
areas of measurement compared with G1.
G1: UCLA/Lovaas-based
intervention, 13/13
G2: Eclectic therapy, 12/12
Quality: Fair
Smith et al. 114 2000, US
G1: UCLA/Lovaas-based
intervention, 15/15
G2: Parent training from
Lovaas manual, 13/13
Quality: Fair
Aldred et al. 108 2004, UK
G1: Parent training in
social communication
intervention plus
community intervention,
14/14
G2: Community
intervention, 14/14
Quality: Fair
Drew et al. 109
2002, UK
G1: Parent training, 12/12
G2: Local/eclectic services,
12/12
G1: 61.92 ± 11.31
G2: 65.17 ± 14.97
Intake:
G1: 36.07 ± 6.00
G2: 35.77 ± 5.77
Followup:
G1: 94.07 ± 13.07
G2: 92.23 ± 17.24
G1: 50.53 ± 11.18
G2: 50.69 ± 13.88
G1: median 48 mo
G2: median 51 mo
NR
Intake:
G1: 21.4 ± 2.7
G2: 23.6 ± 3.8
Followup:
G1: 33.5 ± 2.5
G2: 36.2 ± 4.5
• G1 gained mean of 15 IQ pts compared with
relatively stable cognitive functioning of controls.
• Significant improvement for G1 in visual-spatial
skills and expressive language.
• IQ scores averaged in impaired range at outcome
for G1 and PDD-NOS children appeared to
account for majority of change.
• No post-treatment group differences seen for
adaptive or challenging behavior.
Parent training
37
• G1 showed improvements in ADOS scores, social
interaction, expressive language, child
communication acts during interaction.
• No adaptive behavior differences or differences in
parenting stress between groups.
• Language gains particularly prominent in younger,
lower functioning children.
• At 12 mo, G1 had more words and a trend toward
understanding more words than G2.
• No group differences on NVIQ, autism symptom
severity, parental report of stress, or words or
gestures produced during followup assessment.
Quality: Fair
G1: 88.1 ± 11.2 (NVIQ)
G2: 23.6 ± 3.8 (NVIQ)
ABA=applied behavior analysis; ADI=Autism Diagnostic Interview; ADOS=Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule;
ASDs=autism spectrum disorders; G=group; IQ=intelligence quotient; mo=month; N=number; NVIQ=nonverbal intelligence
quotient; PDD-NOS=Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified; RBS=Repetitive Behavior Scale; SD=standard
deviation; UCLA=University of California, Los Angeles; UK=United Kingdom; VABS=Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale
Social Skills Interventions
The social interventions reviewed in this section focus primarily on children at elementaryschool
ages and those functioning at higher cognitive/developmental levels. They use various
approaches to address three primary dimensions of social competence: specific behavioral skills
(e.g., greetings, initiating game play, joint attention), affective understanding (e.g., recognizing
emotions in self and others), and social cognition (e.g., theory of mind, problem-solving, selfregulation).