Landmark report on evidence for interventions for children on the autism spectrum
Update: On 16 February, 2023, Autism CRC released a new guideline based on the work in this report. The National Guideline for supporting the learning, participation, and wellbeing of autistic children and the families in Australia contains the most up-to-date information and resources for supporting autistic children, superseding the information in this report.
We are pleased to announce the publication of a landmark report for families, clinicians, researchers and policy makers, which synthesises the best available high-quality evidence about interventions for children on the autism spectrum aged up to 12 years.
The report, Interventions for children on the autism spectrum: A synthesis of research evidence, was commissioned and funded by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and produced by an expert team of researchers engaged by Autism CRC.
Register to access the full report
This report is critical because it provides families and clinicians with the best opportunity to make informed decisions when choosing interventions.
To support the release of the report, we have also produced two community summaries and overviews for each intervention category. These are all available on our website autismcrc.com.au/interventions-evidence.
The report includes a broad overview of intervention for children on the autism spectrum, including the principles underpinning all interventions, and the rationale behind each category of intervention, such as developmental interventions, behavioural interventions or technology-based interventions.
It also provides a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence for the effects of interventions for children on the spectrum, both therapeutic and otherwise. The evidence review was conducted to international best-practice standards, including only the highest quality of evidence.
A total of 58 systematic reviews were included in the review of evidence. These drew on data from 1,787 unique studies.
We believe the report will be of benefit to the whole autism community: families, clinicians, policy makers and researchers alike.
An enormous amount of work has gone into producing this report, and it would not have been possible without the cooperation and substantial contributions of numerous researchers and clinicians from a diverse range of professions.
Autism CRC would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof Andrew Whitehouse and A/Prof David Trembath, for their significant contributions in leading the development of this report, along with report authors Dr Kandice Varcin, Dr Hannah Waddington, Dr Rhylee Sulek, Dr Cathy Bent, Dr Jill Ashburner, Prof Valsamma Eapen, Dr Emma Goodall, Dr Kristelle Hudry, Prof Jacqueline Roberts and A/Prof Natalie Silove. Their contributions are sincerely appreciated.
We encourage you to share the news of this report's availability with your networks.
Contact
Cally Jackson
Email: media@autismcrc.com.au