Science Based Treatment

Every year there is a new treatment which is declared to be highly effective in treating individuals with ASD.  So how does one decide which treatment to select? We are firm believers in the scientific method. It is important to separate those procedures that merely sound good, make sense, or feel right from those that actually produce positive change. This really is no different from what we would expect or want when it comes to medical treatment. If one had a life-threatening medical illness, one would not take a drug merely based on the claims of the manufacturer. The patient would look for medications that have gone through scientifically rigorous examination and have proven to be effective. That way the patient would also know the risks associated with taking them. The same should be true for any psychological treatment, including treatment for autism.

Unfortunately, many treatment approaches claim to be effective but lack rigorous scientific testing to support the claim. Some treatments originally produced a lot of excitement based on anecdotal evidence, but have later been shown not to have any effect in treating autism, for example, secretin. Other treatments have been later shown to be actually harmful when used over a long period of time, for example, fenfluramine. Therefore, it is essential that parents be well-informed and objective when deciding on a treatment for their child.

Parents should critically evaluate the evidence for effectiveness of a treatment approach and look for carefully conducted scientific research and beware of pseudoscience. What the research consistently shows is that one approach meets this scientific standard and more than three decades of research has shown to be highly effective: Intensive Behavioral Treatment based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). There is no other treatment has shown to be more effective or has the same amount of scientific evidence to support it. For more information we invite you to explore research findings on behavioral treatment of autism .