Keeping up with the non-MT research in any population can be a challenge of its own. Here is a snapshot of three studies in the non-mt research that may be of interest to MTs.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Jepson et al. (2010) found that there was no significant behavioral differences in children who underwent 40 Hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions in 56 days in a multiple baseline study.  Study involved sixteen children (meaning it was rather small) and there were no effects seen on the within subject (individual) or between subjects (group) basis. An additional participant dropped the study due to a parent-reported increase in stereotypical behavior. Measurements were taken on observation of actual instances of vocal/physical stereotypy and autistic-like behaviors (initiation of social interaction, response to interaction, etc…). Keep in mind that this is a small study and they used non-standardized measurements of behavior.

Weighted vests: Hodgetts et al. (2010) studied stereotypical behaviors and heart rate in six children with ASD, where the condition (weighted vest ((5-10% of body weight)) vs. non-weighted vest) was randomized for all children. Observational rating was completed for minutes 10 – 15 of each condition by one person, with a second rater looking at 40% of the clips (achieving acceptable minimum of agreement). One child’s verbal sterotypy was reported to decrease with the vest; however, there were no significant differences found for any measures.  Keep in mind – very small sample size, hard to infer anything with six children in a study, especially when 1 of those six does show improvements. Author’s conclusion: more research needed, treatment not supported.

Apraxia of Speech in Autism: Shriberg et al (2010) studied the co-occurance of autism and apraxia of speech, which has previously been reported to be as high as 40%. These authors compared speech in verbal children with autism (n=46), typical children (n=10), children/adults with apraxia of speech from neurogenic disorders (n=15), and children with speech delay (n=13). Measures included analysis of prosody, speech, and vocal characteristic (using analyzation software). Results indicated that children with ASD had more speech error and speech delay. Speech, prosody and vocal characteristics were reported to not be similar in children with ASD and persons with CAS. The authors conclude that the characteristics of ASD speech were more inline with the speech attunement framework than apraxia. This is a pretty complicated study and I’m not clear on why they would include adults in the CAS group (adults have a more developed system); however, their conclusion is interesting. Don’t google “speech attunement framework” – you won’t fund anything. From what I can tell, this is a framework that was originally postulated by Shriberg and hasn’t been adopted by other researchers.

This is MTRB’s first attempt at non-MT research snapshot. Let me know if you like it and other areas of interest.

References:

Hodgetts, S., Magill-Evans, J., & Misiaszek, J.E. (2010). Weighted vests, stereotyped behaviors and arousal in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. Sep 14. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 20839040.

Jepson, B., Granpeesheh, D., Tarbox, J., Olive, M.L., Stott, C., Braud, S. et al. (2010). Controlled evaluation of the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the behavior of 16 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. Aug 3.[Epub ahead of print]. PMID:20680427

Shriberg, L.D., Paul, R., Black, L.M., & van Santen, J.P. (2010). The hypothesis of Apraxia of Speech in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 20972615.