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[Modified holding therapy. A basic therapy in the treatment of autistic children]
Insights
Modified Holding Therapy (MHT) significantly improved behavior in autistic children. Treated children showed more positive behavioral changes than the untreated control group, indicating MHT
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Therapy
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Context:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents significant challenges in behavior and social interaction.
- Parental assessment is a key method for evaluating behavioral changes in children with ASD.
- Modified Holding Therapy (MHT) is an intervention explored for its efficacy in managing ASD-related behaviors.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of Modified Holding Therapy (MHT) in improving behavioral symptoms in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- To compare behavioral changes in children with ASD treated with MHT versus a control group.
- To analyze the impact of MHT across different symptom categories of ASD.
Summary:
- A randomized controlled trial assigned seven autistic children to Modified Holding Therapy (MHT) for four weeks, with seven others serving as a control group.
- Parents reported significantly more positive behavioral changes in the MHT-treated group across all four assessed symptom categories: perceptual disturbances, speech, social interaction, and ritualistic behaviors.
- The control group, after receiving MHT, demonstrated similar positive behavioral changes, supporting the therapy's effectiveness.
Impact:
- Modified Holding Therapy (MHT) shows promise as an effective intervention for improving behavioral outcomes in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- The findings support the interpretation of MHT's efficacy through the lens of the two-system theory of information processing.
- This research contributes to understanding therapeutic approaches for ASD and their implications for broader psychological theories.
Abstract:
Seven autistic children were selected at random from a group of 14 and treated with modified holding therapy (MHT) for 4 weeks. The remaining 7 children (control group) were not treated during a 4-week waiting period. Four of these children were then treated with MHT. The children's parents assessed positive behavior changes (increases in desirable behavior and decreases in undesirable behavior) and negative changes on a behavior rating scale. Significantly more positive changes in behavior problems were reported for the experimental group than for the control group (untreated group) in each of the four symptom categories assessed (disturbances in perception, in speech and in social interaction and obsessive-compulsive or ritualistic behavior). The 4 children in the control group who were later treated with MHT showed behavior changes that correlated highly with those reported for the experimental group. The results are discussed and interpreted from the viewpoint of the two-system theory of information processing and its meaning for psychoses.