Abstract

What is already known on this topic Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of core social-communication impairment and behavioural inflexibility, often accompanied by delayed language development.1 A key research goal is to understand which interventions are effective, for whom and to what extent. Existing meta-analyses have considered whether particular approaches improve core symptoms, cognitive ability and adaptive behaviour in autism.2 Methods of the study This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effects of early behavioural interventions on language outcomes for young children with autism (8 years). The 26 key studies were published between 1980 and 2014 and included a total of 1738 participants (mean age =3.3 years, SD=0.91). These included data on child language outcomes following a variety of behavioural/developmental interventions versus treatment as usual (TAU).

Citation

Hudry, K., & Dimov, S. (2017). Spoken-language shows some improvement following intervention for children with autism: But for which children and why? Evidence Based Mental Health, 20:e16. doi: 10.1136/eb-2016-102435.