Autistic kids do better with "trained" parents
New Haven Register
Email successfully sent
close windowGiving parents of autistic children specialized training helps children with severe behavior problems better than medication alone, according to a Yale professor.
“The conclusion is that for children with pervasive developmental disorders ... (they) will benefit from medication and parent training,” said Lawrence Scahill, professor at Yale School of Nursing and the Yale Child Study Center, a principal investigator.
The 24-week trial was conducted at Yale, Ohio State and Indiana universities. The results were published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Scahill said the focus of the study was children on the autism spectrum, age 4 to 13, who have “serious behavioral problems,” including “daily and prolonged tantrums, aggression and self-injury.”
“These behaviors may occur in response to normal expectations of everyday living, such as getting dressed, getting ready for bed or making transitions between one activity and another,” Scahill said.
Related Articles
Study: mothers of children with autism higher stress and other special needs
Researchers at the University of Washington Autism Center asked mothers about their experiences and found that ..
Science hijacked to support alternative autism therapies
Dr. Carlos Pardo was trying to head off trouble. The Johns Hopkins neurologist and his colleagues had autop ..
Parent training boosts medication effect for autism
Life with a child who has a pervasive developmental disorder such as autism or Asperger's syndrome is often a ..
