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

Am J Ment Retard. 2000 Mar;105(2):118-29. doi: 10.1352/0895-8017(2000)105<0118:AITFCW>2.0.CO;2.

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.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation*
  • Autistic Disorder / therapy*
  • Child
  • Child Behavior Disorders
  • Complementary Therapies*
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Faculty
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Music Therapy / methods*
  • Observer Variation
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Treatment Failure