A recent study on autism shows that parents who communicate with their young autistic children reduced symptoms of the disorder up to six years later.
However, these children did not improve in language skills or show reduced anxiety.
Moreover, when one looks into the study further, we will notice that standard behaviour treatment was received by both groups of children in the experiments, with the difference being the parents of one group receiving training to boost awareness and responsiveness to their children’s communications.
In practical terms, what this means is that standard behaviour treatment was still seen as essential in helping reduce symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with the involvement of parents adding value to the process.
When considering behaviour treatment, applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy still remains the most effective in helping treat ASD in children.
The results of the study are also not exactly groundbreaking as in ABA therapy, parents are already encouraged to be involved in the therapy so as to improve the results of their child’s treatment, and the study only gave further credence to this practice of parent involvement.
Link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/autism-study-shows-lasting-benefits-of-early-interaction/3236834.html
