Auditory integration training for children with autism: no behavioral benefits detected

Author(s): Cross, B. A., Breen, S., Cullen, C., Reeves, D., Gould, J., Douglas, J.

Journal/Book: Am J Ment Retard. 2000; 105: 118-29.

Abstract: 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.

Keyword(s): Acoustic Stimulation. Alternative Medicine. Autistic Disorder/therapy. Child. Child Behavior Disorders. Cross-Over Studies. Faculty. Female. Human. Male. Music Therapy/methods. Observer Variation. Parent-Child Relations. Psychiatric Status Rating Scales. Statistics, Nonparametric. Support, Non-U.S. Gov't. Treatment Failure

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