Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Dietary and Other Medical Interventions ..........................................................................73
KQ1. Effects of Treatment on Core and Commonly Associated Symptoms in Children
With ASDs: Allied Health Interventions ................................................................................77
Language Interventions ......................................................................................................78
Sensory- and Auditory-Focused Interventions ..................................................................80
Additional Allied Health Interventions ..............................................................................83
KQ1. Effects of Treatment on Core and Commonly Associated Symptoms in Children
With ASDs: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Interventions ....................84
CAM Interventions ............................................................................................................84
KQ2. Modifiers of Treatment Outcomes ................................................................................87
Behavioral Interventions ....................................................................................................88
Educational Interventions ..................................................................................................91
Medical Interventions ........................................................................................................91
CAM Interventions ............................................................................................................93
KQ3. Early Results in the Treatment Phase That Predict Outcomes .....................................93
Early Identifiable Changes Predicting Response/Outcome ...............................................93
KQ4. End of Treatment Effects That Predict Outcomes ........................................................93
KQ5. Generalization of Treatment Effects .............................................................................94
KQ6. Drivers of Treatment Effects ........................................................................................95
KQ7. Treatment Approaches in Children Under Age Two at Risk for Diagnosis
of ASDs ..................................................................................................................................95
Discussion ......................................................................................................................................98
Outcomes and Strength of Evidence of Therapies .................................................................99
Effectiveness of Behavioral Interventions .........................................................................99
Effectiveness of Educational Interventions .....................................................................106
Effectiveness of Medical and Related Interventions .......................................................107
Effectiveness of Allied Health Interventions ...................................................................110
Effectiveness of CAM Interventions ...............................................................................112
Assessment of Domains for Strength of Evidence ..........................................................112
KQ2. Modifiers of Treatment Outcomes .............................................................................115
KQ3. Early Results in the Treatment Phase That Predict Outcomes ...................................117
KQ4. End of Treatment Effects That Predict Outcomes ......................................................117
KQ5. Generalization of Treatment Effects ...........................................................................118
KQ6. Drivers of Treatment Effects ......................................................................................118
KQ7. Treatment Approaches in Children Under Age Two at Risk for ASDs .....................118
Quality Considerations .........................................................................................................118
Applicability .........................................................................................................................119
Review of Systematic Reviews ............................................................................................120
Future Research ....................................................................................................................121
State of the Literature.......................................................................................................121
Gaps in Areas of Research ...............................................................................................122
Methodologic Issues ........................................................................................................124
Conclusions ..........................................................................................................................125
References ....................................................................................................................................128
Acronyms/Abbreviations .............................................................................................................145
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