Project AIM: Autism Intervention Meta-Analysis for Studies of Young Children
Abstract
In this comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of group design studies of
nonpharmacological early interventions designed for young children with autism spectrum
disorder (ASD), we report summary effects across seven early intervention types (behavioral,
developmental, naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention [NDBI], TEACCH,
sensory-based, animal-assisted, and technology-based), and 15 outcome categories indexing core
and related ASD symptoms. A total of 1,615 effect sizes were gathered from 130 independent
participant samples. A total of 6,240 participants, who ranged in age from 0-8 years, are
represented across the studies. We synthesized effects within intervention and outcome type
using a robust variance estimation approach to account for the nesting of effect sizes within
studies. We also tracked study quality indicators, and report an additional set of summary effect
sizes that restrict included studies to those meeting pre-specified quality indicators. Finally, we
conducted moderator analyses to evaluate whether summary effects across intervention types
were larger for proximal as compared to distal effects, and for context-bound as compared to
generalized effects. We found that when study quality indicators were not taken into account,
significant positive effects were found for behavioral, developmental, and NDBI intervention
types. When effect size estimation was limited to studies with randomized controlled trial (RCT)
designs, evidence of positive summary effects existed only for developmental and NDBI
intervention types. This was also the case when outcomes measured by parent report were
excluded. Finally, when effect estimation was limited to RCT designs and to outcomes for which
there was no risk of detection bias, no intervention types showed significant effects on any
outcome.
Department
Description
Article is forthcoming as of December 2019. Citation for published version will be added once released by the American Psychological Association.