‘Super parenting’ may help reduce autism symptoms in kids

London, October 26 

Training parents to communicate with their autistic kids at an early age may help reduce symptoms of the disorder, a new study has found.

The early intervention for autism was aimed at helping parents communicate with their child. The reduction of symptoms continued for six years after the end of treatment, researchers said.

The study by researchers at King’s College London and Newcastle University in the UK, is the first to identify a long-term effect of an early intervention for autism.

They found that children who had received the intervention aged 2-4 had less severe overall symptoms six years later, with improved social communication and reduced repetitive behaviours, although no changes were seen in other areas such as language or anxiety.

However, difficulties remain and additional ongoing support will usually be needed as the children get older, researchers said.

“This type of early intervention is distinctive in being designed to work with parents to help improve parent-child communication at home,” said Jonathan Green from University of Manchester and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

“The advantage of this approach over a direct therapist-child intervention is that it has potential to affect the everyday life of the child,” said Green.

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder that affects about one in 100 people; it can have a profound effect on children’s social development into adulthood.

The type of early intervention used in this study focuses specifically on working with parents.

By watching videos of themselves interacting with their child and receiving feedback from therapists, parents were able to enhance their awareness and response to their child’s unusual patterns of communication.

They became better able to understand their child and respomd appropriately in a focused way.

Parents took part in 12 therapy sessions over six months, followed by monthly support sessions for the next six months.

In addition, parents agreed to undertake 20-30 minutes per day of planned communication and play activities with the child.

In the original trial, 152 children aged 2-4 with autism were randomised to receive the 12 month early intervention or treatment as usual.

The present study is the follow-up analysis of the same children about six years after the end of treatment.

As many as 121 (80 per cent) of the 152 original trial participants were assessed as part of the follow-up study. Of these, 59 children had previously received the intervention and 62 had received treatment as usual.

The study was published in journal The Lancet. — PTI