Behavioural and Developmental Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Systematic Review

Background: Much controversy exists regarding the clinical efficacy of behavioural and developmental interventions for improving the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We conducted a systematic review to summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of behavioural and developmental interventions for ASD. Methods and Findings: Comprehensive searches were conducted in 22 electronic databases through May 2007. Further information was obtained through hand searching journals, searching reference lists, databases of theses and dissertations, and contacting experts in the field. Experimental and observational analytic studies were included if they were written in English and reported the efficacy of any behavioural or developmental intervention for individuals with ASD. Two independent reviewers made the final study selection, extracted data, and reached consensus on study quality. Results were summarized descriptively and, where possible, meta-analyses of the study results were conducted. One-hundred-and-one studies at predominantly high risk of bias that reported inconsistent results across various interventions were included in the review. Meta-analyses of three controlled clinical trials showed that Lovaas treatment was superior to special education on measures of adaptive behaviour, communication and interaction, comprehensive language, daily living skills, expressive language, overall intellectual functioning and socialization. High-intensity Lovaas was superior to low-intensity Lovaas on measures of intellectual functioning in two retrospective cohort studies. Pooling the results of two randomized controlle

The effect of an integration program on teacher and student attitudes to mentally-handicapped children

This study examines the effect of contact with autistic children on teacher and peer attitudes to mentally‐handicapped children in general. Children were interviewed and teachers completed questionnaires about their attitudes toward mentally‐handicapped children in five schools attended by autistic boys and five schools not attended by any mentally‐handicapped children. Children who had contact with autistic boys had more positive and realistic attitudes. Teachers' attitudes were generally positive and did not vary across settings, but those with experience in teaching mentally‐handicapped children were found to have more positive attitudes than those with no experience. The implications for the integration of mentally‐handicapped children are briefly discussed