Type Of Play Therapy Raises IQ Scores In Autistic Children

Early Start Denver Model

While there are many divisions within the communities concerned with autism, early intervention and screening is one area of cohesion.

Now a new study shows that a certain form of therapy, delivered as early as 18 months, can raise IQ levels and improve language skills and behavior.

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.

Lead author Geraldine Dawson, a chief science officer with the group, Autism Speaks, believes “early intervention can be very effective for toddlers with autism.”

What’s different in this first controlled trial of children under the age of two-and-a-half, is that instead of waiting, a form of intervention, called “Early Start Denver Model” (ESDM), was most effective.

In this published study, all of the children were enrolled in either a community-based therapy or in ESDM, developed by Dr. Sally Rogers from the University of California-Davis M.I.N.D. Institute.

The goal was to determine whether the debilitating effects of autism can be reduced or prevented.

Of the 48 children who received ESDM, a more relaxed therapy delivered by therapists in a child’s home, children had an increase in their IQ by nearly 18 points, 10 points higher than children receiving standard therapy delivered by a therapist in an office.

Standard therapy, Traditional Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), breaks down complex tasks into small and do-able components coupled with tangible reinforcement. But the ESDM group not only had higher IQ points after two years, but children also scored higher in listening and understanding as well as in motor skill improvement.

ESDM can be taught to parents to use in everyday settings.

For children with autism, the ESDM group required only 15 hours of intervention a week, compared with about 40 recommended hours typically. That could save parents the cost of therapy, estimated by a 2006 Harvard study to be more than $3 million a lifetime.

The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends all children be screened for autism between 18 and 24 months.  

Until now, there had been no studies proving the ESDM was the most effective treatment. A second study will attempt to replicate the findings of this study before the therapy can receive the endorsement and be recommended by major health organizations.

Autism is characterized by neurological disorders, communication difficulties and/ or restrictive or repetitive behaviors.

A study published in the October 5, 2009 issue of Pediatrics finds that parent-reported autism affects one in 91 American children, and 1 in 58 boys.

The cause is unknown and there is no known cure, though heavy metal ingredients in childhood vaccines, such as mercury-based thimerosal or aluminum are suspected. #