Introduction to Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders

What is an intervention?

An intervention is any action – such as a treatment, a therapy or the provision of a service – which is designed to help people with autistic spectrum disorders, such as autism or Asperger syndrome.

There are already more than 100 different interventions designed to help people with autistic spectrum disorders, including applied behavioural analysis, drama therapy, gluten-free diet, Lego therapy, sensory integration training, snake oil, swimming with dolphins, and taking vitamin supplements.

This website provides an alphabetic list of interventions, a list of the interventions we have evaluated so far, as well as a classification of the different types. We hope to provide more information about more interventions over time.

What are interventions supposed to do?

It depends on who you ask. Different people make different claims for different interventions. But, in general, most interventions are designed to do one or more of the following:

cure autism.
increase adaptive behaviours, such as social skills, communication skills or imaginative behaviours.
reduce or eliminate problematic behaviours, such as self-harm or aggression towards others.
treat co-existing conditions, such as epilepsy or gastro-intestinal problems.
improve or enhance the quality of life of the person with autism.

Of course some people claim that some interventions can do all of these things.

Which interventions do people actually use?

This depends on a range of factors, including the needs of the person with autism, as well as the availability and cost of each intervention. The most commonly used interventions in the UK include

Diets, such as the gluten-free, casein-free diet
Behavioural approaches, such as the Lovaas method
Medication, such as anti-psychotics
Augmentative communication, such as PECS
Sensory integration techniques
Specialist education e.g. schools for children with autism
Speech and language therapy

In practice most people use a combination of these interventions.

Which interventions actually work?

Most interventions appear to produce benefits of some kind, otherwise people wouldn’t use them. Unfortunately in some cases these apparent benefits are short-term, insignificant or illusory. And any benefits may be outweighed by the financial and emotional costs of the intervention, or the dangers inherent in some therapies.

At present there is very little scientifically valid research into the effectiveness of most autism interventions. However we do know that some interventions are more promising than others.

For example, there is strong scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of interventions such as early intensive behavioural intervention for young children. And there is equally strong scientific evidence to show that some interventions, such as Facilitated Communication, are not effective.

Having said all that, each person with autism is different and what works for one person may not work for another.

Why is it difficult to evaluate interventions?

There are a number of reasons why it is difficult to evaluate interventions. For example

It can be difficult and time consuming to set up properly controlled scientific studies.
The realities of family life may interfere with the research
The researchers may have commercial interests in proving the success of the intervention
The people involved in the trial of an intervention may really, really want it to work – so much so that they see significant improvements where there are none
What works for one person with autism may not work for another.
An individual’s symptoms may ‘spontaneously’ improve over time, irrespective of which intervention is used

Even supposedly scientific studies may be flawed, leading to biased and inaccurate findings.

If you are trying to evaluate an intervention yourself, you may find it useful to ask some key questions. We have drawn up a list of some of them. Key Questions to Ask (Word doc.)

Why does it matter if people use the wrong interventions?

Some interventions may be harmful. For example, the machine used in Auditory Integration Training can damage someone’s hearing because of the excessive volume or sound pressure produced.
Ineffective therapies waste parents’ time and resources. For example there is strong scientific evidence to show that secretin is not an effective treatment for autism. But that doesn’t stop some therapists charging thousands of pounds for this treatment.
Ineffective treatments may delay the use of effective treatments, which may compromise the child’s outcome.
Parents and others may become discouraged from trying effective therapies if their hopes are dashed by ineffective therapies.
Contact with commercial providers advocating one ineffective treatment can expose parents to further unvalidated, harmful or expensive therapies. For example, we hear horror stories of parents being told they must buy a range of therapies if they want their child to be cured and then being billed for thousands and thousands of pounds.

So where do I find information I can trust?

It can be really difficult to find high-quality information that is accurate, up-to-date and reliable. When you do find the right information, it may be written in scientific gobbledygook that you can’t understand.

This website is one of the few which aims to provide clear and scientifically valid information about the most commonly used interventions. If you can’t find information about a specific intervention please contact us and we will try to find that information for you.

What if I want immediate, practical help?

We regret that because we are a small research charity, with only one full-time member of staff, we cannot provide advice to individuals on which interventions they should or should not use.

You can find a range of organisations which may be able to help in the Useful resources section of this website.

References

Charman, T. and Clare, P. (2004). Mapping autism research: identifying UK priorities for the future. London: National Autistic Society.

Green V.A. et al. (2006). Internet survey of treatments used by parents of children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 27(1), pp. 70-84. Read Abstract (Open in new window)

Herbert, J.D., Sharp, I.R. and Gaudiano, B.A. (2002). Separating fact from fiction in the etiology and treatment of autism: A scientific review of the evidence. Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice, 1(1), pp. ?. Read Full item (Open in new window)

Howlin, P. (2000). Autism and intellectual disability: diagnostic and treatment issues. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 93(7), pp. 351-355. Read Full item (Open in new window) (PDF document.)

Humphrey N. and Parkinson G. (2006). Research on interventions for children and young people on the autistic spectrum: a critical perspective. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 6(2), pp. 76-86. Read Original research report (PDF document)

Mills, R. and Wing, L. (2005). Researching interventions in ASD and priorities for research: surveying the membership of the NAS. Read Full item (Open in new window) (PDF document.)

National Autistic Society. (2003). Approaches to autism: An easy to use guide to many and varied approaches to autism. London: The National Autistic Society.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. (2007). Assessment, diagnosis and clinical interventions for children and young people with autism spectrum disorders. Edinburgh, SIGN. Read Quick reference guide (PDF document). Full guideline (PDF document).

Simpson R.L. et al. (2005). Autism spectrum disorders: interventions and treatments for children and youth. California, Corwin Press. Back To Top

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Last Updated : 21/07/2010 Back to Top

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