Parent‐mediated early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Abstract BackgroundYoung children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have impairments in the areas of communication and social interaction and often display repetitive or non‐compliant behaviour. This early pattern of difficulties is a challenge for parents. Therefore, approaches that help parents develop strategies for interaction and management of behaviour are an obvious route for early intervention in ASD. This review updates a Cochrane review first published in 2002 but is based on a new protocol. ObjectivesTo assess the effectiveness of parent‐mediated early interventions in terms of the benefits for both children with ASD and their parents and to explore some potential moderators of treatment effect. Search methodsWe searched a range of psychological, educational and biomedical databases including CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and ERIC in August 2012. As this is an update of a previous review, we limited the search to the period following the original searches in 2002. Bibliographies and reference lists of key articles were searched, field experts were contacted and key journals were handsearched. Selection criteriaWe included only randomised controlled trials of early intervention for children with ASD. The interventions in the experimental condition were mediated by parents; the control conditions included no treatment, treatment as usual, waiting list, alternative child‐centred intervention not mediated by parents, or alternative parent‐mediated inter...
Source: Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Intervention Review Source Type: research