Meta-Analysis of Autism Interventions

Abstract

As of 2016, 1 in 54 children had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With the increase in the number of children diagnosed with ASD, there has been a precipitous increase in both the quantity and quality of research examining interventions for young children with ASD. From 2011 to 2018, the reported number of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of interventions for young children with autism increased from 2 to 48. To summarize this transforming evidence base, Sandbank and colleagues reviewed and meta-analyzed 150 reports of 130 studies, 87 of which were RCTs, which collectively reported effect sizes for 1,615 outcomes, representing 6,240 young children with autism. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are to employ evidence-based intervention. Frequently, SLPs have been told that only programs based on applied behavioral analysis or discrete trial teaching have evidence. In their meta-analysis, Sandbank and colleagues have documented that this is not the case.