Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Behavioral Health
• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Child Psychology

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) prevalence is rising, increasing demand for effective behavioral treatments.
• Current treatments for ASD lack curative or broad psychopharmacological options.
• Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is a well-established, behaviorally-based treatment for ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the evidence for EIBI's effectiveness in enhancing functional behaviors and skills in young children with ASD.
• To assess EIBI's impact on autism severity, intelligence, and communication skills.
• To provide an updated analysis since the last Cochrane review in 2012.

Main Methods:

• Searched multiple electronic databases and trials registers up to August 2017.
• Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs, and controlled clinical trials (CCTs).
• Compared EIBI to no-treatment or treatment-as-usual in children under six years old.

Main Results:

• Low-quality evidence suggests EIBI improves adaptive behavior and reduces autism symptom severity.
• EIBI also shows low-quality evidence for improving IQ and language skills (expressive and receptive).
• No adverse effects were reported in the included studies.

Conclusions:

• Weak evidence suggests EIBI may be effective for some children with ASD.
• The overall quality of evidence is low due to study design limitations and risk of bias.
• Further rigorous research is needed to strengthen conclusions on EIBI's efficacy for ASD.