Critical Issues in Causation and Treatment of Autism: Why Fads Continue to Flourish

McDonald, Mary E.; Pace, Darra; Blue, Elfreda V.; Schwartz, Diane

doi:10.1080/07317107.2012.732849

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Swire et al argued that after a delay, refuted “myths” can again be falsely accepted as true because recollection for the details of the refutation fades over time, while the myth’s familiarity—potentially boosted by the refutation itself—remains high. This may be particularly important in the field of autism where media, celebrity endorsement, as well as endorsement of fad treatments by professionals is common [19], and the myths may therefore be frequently encountered. This highlights the need for future research into repeated and varied refutational interventions to achieve long-term belief change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Misinformation is a particularly serious problem in the field of autism, to the point that autism has been labelled a “fad magnet” [18]. This is due to the plethora of treatments available with no scientific evidence, or even evidence of harm, which are often aggressively marketed using anecdotes, appeals to emotions, and celebrity endorsements [19, 20]. Surveys of parents [21] and professionals [22] have shown that ineffective treatments continue to be used despite being rejected by the scientific community, and that misinformation contributes to this problem [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of a template for countering misinformation—Real-world Autism treatment myth debunking

et al. 2019

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Misinformation poses significant challenges to evidence-based practice. In the public health domain specifically, treatment misinformation can lead to opportunity costs or direct harm. Alas, attempts to debunk misinformation have proven sub-optimal, and have even been shown to “backfire”, including increasing misperceptions. Thus, optimized debunking strategies have been developed to more effectively combat misinformation. The aim of this study was to test these strategies in a real-world setting, targeting misinformation about autism interventions. In the context of professional development training, we randomly assigned participants to an “optimized-debunking” or a “treatment-as-usual” training condition and compared support for non-empirically-supported treatments before, after, and six weeks following completion of online training. Results demonstrated greater benefits of optimized debunking immediately after training; thus, the implemented strategies can serve as a general and flexible debunking template. However, the effect was not sustained at follow-up, highlighting the need for further research into strategies for sustained change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a template for countering misinformation—Real-world Autism treatment myth debunking

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…One approach to stemming the proliferation of fad interventions and treating a heterogeneous population is to teach practitioners to use scientific evidence in implementation decisions (McDonald, Pace, Blue, & Schwartz, 2012). Odom, Hume, Boyd, and Stabel (2012) suggested an individualized approach to selecting EBPs is a desirable practice; Strain, Schwartz, and Barton (2011) asserted that the matching of intervention strategies to target behaviors is essential for intervention providers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Antecedent Social Skills Interventions for Individuals With ASD: What Works, for Whom, and Under What Conditions?

Ledford

King

Harbin

et al. 2016

Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl

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Social skills interventions designed to increase pro-social interactions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders are critical, but the relative effectiveness of these interventions is not well understood. More than 250 single-case design studies in 113 articles were reviewed and described in terms of participants, settings, arrangements, implementers, social partners, target behaviors, and treatment components. Differential success rates are reported, given the variation in study and participant characteristics (e.g., implementers, treatment components, participant age). Environmental arrangement, social skills training, and prompting were highly successful, and peer training, priming, and video-based interventions were less successful. More evidence is needed, particularly research including older individuals and utilizing indigenous implementers and typical social partners.

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“…Intervention methods that are effective for children with ASD often involve individualization of the treatment based on the identified function of the child’s behavior (Fischetti et al, 2012; Rodriguez, Thompson, Schlichenmeyer, & Stocco, 2012), suggesting that the effectiveness of any given intervention may vary by individual child. Furthermore, although research exists to support the expected success of various intervention strategies, many parents and teachers of students with autism opt to try other non-evidence-based strategies that they consider potentially effective for their individual child (McDonald, Pace, Blue, & Schwartz, 2012). To ensure that the selected approach is effective for an individual child with ASD, systematic evaluation of a child’s progress is important (L.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Parents and Teachers to Monitor Progress Among Children With ASD

Witmer

Nasamran

Parikh

et al. 2014

Focus Autism Other Dev Disabl

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Despite growing knowledge of the effectiveness of various interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it is never clear whether a particular intervention will be effective for a specific child with ASD. Careful monitoring of an individual child's progress is necessary to know whether an intervention is effective. In this review, we examined intervention research studies focused on children with ASD in Grades K-12 that involve parents, teachers, and other school staff as data collectors. We describe the strategies that have been used in the 40 identified research studies to monitor progress in the areas of behavior and social communication. The results highlight monitoring strategies that may be helpful for parents and teachers to apply, and the discussion provides related suggestions to guide future research and practice.

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Critical Issues in Causation and Treatment of Autism: Why Fads Continue to Flourish

Cited by 16 publications

References 28 publications

Evaluation of a template for countering misinformation—Real-world Autism treatment myth debunking

Evaluation of a template for countering misinformation—Real-world Autism treatment myth debunking

Antecedent Social Skills Interventions for Individuals With ASD: What Works, for Whom, and Under What Conditions?

Using Parents and Teachers to Monitor Progress Among Children With ASD

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