AUTISM

Autism

Autism

Introduction

In the years immediately following Kanner's initial descriptions of autism, many psychiatrists, including Kanner himself (1943), assumed the condition was an early form of schizophrenia with a psychogenic basis. Consequently, psychoanalysis, together with drugs and other treatments used at the time for schizophrenia, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), widely used. In adulthood, long-term placement in psychiatric hospitals or institutions for the 'mentally retarded' was the most likely outcome. However, in the mid to late 1960s, studies began to emerge documenting how operant approaches could be successfully used to modify many of the behaviors shown by children with autism. ASD has also attracted attention within the fields of 'alternative' or 'complementary' therapies. These cover a vast range, including pet therapies, psycho-educational therapies, such as the Waldon or Son-Rise programs, facilitated communication, cranial osteopathy, special diets, vitamin supplements, wearing tinted spectacles or listening to tapes of filtered sounds, clay baths, hyperbaric oxygen tents and salt crystal lamps to name but a few.

Treatments

Some treatments, such as chelation therapy, serotonin, endocrine, and gamma-globulin and other injections, and testosterone regulation treatments are potentially hazardous. Few have any valid theoretical underpinnings, and for most, the evidence base is non-existent. The challenge for professionals is to help parents look beyond the enthusiastic claims and glossy brochures, and in identifying treatments that may best suit, not only their child but also their own needs as a family. Fortunately, over the last few years, there has been a steady increase in well-conducted treatment trials, including a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and the evidence base on which to recommend treatments to families is steadily improving (Rogers & Vismara, 2008).

Enhancing Parent-Child Interaction

Another development in recent years has been the switch of focus to interventions that concentrate on the precursors to spoken language, such as joint attention and parent-child synchrony. One ...