164 Other well-known or commonly discussed interventions

Empirically Based Treatments

Medication Management

Medications are also often used to treat individuals with ASD (Posey, 2007).Similar to behavioral interventions in ASD, medical interventions are not designed to cure autism but to address particular symptoms such as inattention, anxiety, depression, and/or irritability. Medications treat symptoms; there is no single medication for ASD.

Symptoms treated through medication include:

• Hyperactivity
• Interfering Repetitive Behavior (“self-stim”)
• Inattentiveness
• Impulsivity
• Physical Aggression
• Self-Injury
• Insomnia
• Anxiety and Worry
• Irritability/Tantrums

Risperidone (an atypical antipsychotic) is approved by the FDA for the treatment of irritability, aggression, and self-injury in ASD. Other drugs have not yet been FDA approved, but are commonly used. Oftentimes, the preferred course of intervention is a blended behavioral and medication regiment if desired gains are not achieved by behavioral intervention alone.

Verbal Behavior Analysis

Verbal Behavior Analysis (VBA) uses the same principles of ABA utilized in DTT but targeted towards teaching language skills. Specifically, individuals learn critical aspects of language such as “mands” (words to request), “tacts” (words to describe), and “intraverbals” (responses). The individual learns that functional communication serves the function of resulting in desired objects. This method was developed by B.F. Skinner in the 1950s.

Complementary Approaches – Alternative Treatments

Chelation

Some people have noted that the symptoms of individuals with mercury poisoning are similar to some of the symptoms of those with ASD. This has led to some people wondering whether individuals with ASD might simply have high levels of metals and other toxins in their body. The goal of chelation is to remove those toxins towards removing the causal agent and improvement in symptoms. However, study has not substantiated this claim and those in the medical field have cautioned that this can indeed be a harmful intervention.

Secretin

Secretin is a hormone in people that affects digestion. The interest in secretin began in the mid-1990s when one child with autism was given secretin for a medical procedure and his parents reported that he showed many improvements. Many other parents then became interested in secretin as a treatment for autism. The thought is that some individuals with ASD have digestive problems and, if the individual receives secretin, the digestive system will improve. According to the theory, once the digestive system improves, the individual will feel better and many of the symptoms of ASD will improve as a result. Research has found no differences between individuals who had secretin and those who had a placebo (sugar pill).

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI)

RDI was developed by Steven Gutstein (2000s) to help individuals with ASD learn to become socially motivated. The theory is that most other interventions teach the child how to respond, but not why. As a result, the individual is always acting rather than being authentic. The goal of this program is to slowly introduce games and other activities to the individual at his/her pace to help with understanding why social skills are so important.

Floortime

Developed by Stanley Greenspan in the 2000s, Floortime is an intensive intervention for individuals with ASD in which the individual relearns developmental milestones. Floortime begins with the first milestone that may have been missed, and then works forward from there. The idea behind floortime is that the individual is constantly learning all day long and to ensure all information learned is important. In theory, by going through the developmental process all over again, without missing any milestones, the individual will show improvements in behavior. Adequate study has not been conducted to provide a scientific basis for this method.