Therapy with babies boosts social development, reducing clinical autism diagnosis by two-thirds

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/928767

 

 News Release 20-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Telethon Kids Institute

 

A parent-led therapy that supports the social development of babies displaying early signs of autism has significantly reduced the likelihood of an autism diagnosis being made in early childhood, according to world-first research led by CliniKids at the Telethon Kids Institute.In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, an international research team led by Professor Andrew Whitehouse (Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at Telethon Kids and The University of Western Australia and Director of CliniKids) found that a clinician diagnosis of autism at age three was only a third as likely in children who received the pre-emptive therapy (iBASIS-VIPP)compared to those who received treatment as usual. 

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 ”Professor Whitehouse said many therapies for autism tried to replace developmental differences with more ‘typical’ behaviours. Incontrast, iBASIS-VIPP soughtto work with each child’s unique differences and create a social environment around the child that wouldhelp them learn in a way that was best for them.“The therapy uses video-feedback to help parents understand and appreciate the unique abilities of their baby, and to use these strengths as a foundation for future development,” Professor Whitehouse said.“By doing so, this therapy was able to support their later social engagement and other autistic-related behaviours such as sensory behaviours and repetitiveness, to the point that they were less likely meet the ‘deficit-focused’ diagnostic criteria for autism.“We also found increased parental sensitivity to their baby’s unique communicationand an increase in parent-reported language development.

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