Auditory integration training for children with autism: no behavioral benefits detected.
Auditory integration training and a control treatment were provided for 16 children with autism in a crossover experimental design. Measures, blind to treatment order, included parent and teacher ratings of behavior, direct observational recordings, IQ, language, and social/adaptive tests. Significant differences tended to show that the control condition was superior on parent-rated measures of hyperactivity and on direct observational measures of ear-occlusion. No differences were detected on teacher-rated measures. Children's IQs and language comprehension did not increase, but adaptive/social behavior scores and expressive language quotients decreased. The majority of parents (56%) were unable to report in retrospect when their child had received auditory integration training. No individual child was identified as benefiting clinically or educationally from the treatment.
Mudford
O C
OC
Keele University, Staffordshire, England. o.c.mudford@keele.ac.uk
Cross
B A
BA
Breen
S
S
Cullen
C
C
Reeves
D
D
Gould
J
J
Douglas
J
J
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009147:Music Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017211:Treatment Failure