Autism Treatment of Choice

As pointed out on Nesrhtens… ABA and thoughts… Sigmund Eldevik, Richard P. Hastings, J. Carl Hughes, ErikJahr, Svein Eikeseth, and Scott Cross have published an article in Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, Volume 38, Issue 3 May 2009 , pages 439 - 450, Meta-Analysis of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Children With Autism, which reports the results of an examination of 34 Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention studies "9 of which were controlled designs having either a comparison or a control group". The article authors found large full scale intelligence changes and moderate adaptive behavior changes.

The authors concluded that:

"at present, and in the absence of other interventions with established efficacy, Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention should be an intervention of choice for children with autism. "

It will be interesting to see if ABA critical researchers respond with anything positive, that is to say, with word of an evidence based effective alternative. My best is that the usual nonsensical rhetoric will flow from the usual anti-ABA activists who will offer absolutely no evidence based alternative. Or they will simply argue that autistic children, even the severely autistic, should unlike all other children, simply be left to develop on their own with no effective assistance.

autism

Autism Quote of The Decade - ABA Is the Treatment of Choice

“there is no question that ABA is the treatment of choice for children presenting with autistic disorder based on over 35 years of research in the field.”

- Frank M. Gresham Ph.D., as quoted by Justice Allan in Auton et al. v. AGBC 2000 BCSC 1142 para. 52

Frank M. Gresham was a Professor and Director of the School Psychology Program in the School of Education at U.C.L.A. He was retained by the British Columbia government in their efforts to oppose medicare coverage of ABA intervention for autism by providing expert opinion evidence regarding the Lovaas studies of which he has been a long time critic.

Despite his criticisms of the Lovaas studies, and despite his status as a paid expert witness for the government opposing ABA medicare coverage for autistic children, Dr. Gresham, to his credit, acknowledged ABA as the treatment of choice for autism.