Kasari Connie, Paparella Tanya, Freeman Stephanny, Jahromi Laudan B
Psychological Studies in Education, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
J Consult Clin Psychol. 2008 Feb;76(1):125-37. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.76.1.125.
This study reports results of a randomized controlled trial aimed at joint attention (JA) and symbolic play (SP) in preschool children with autism, with prediction to language outcome 12 months later. Participants were 58 children (46 boys) with autism between 3 and 4 years of age. Children were randomized to a JA intervention, an SP intervention, or control group. Interventions were conducted 30 min daily for 5-6 weeks. Assessments of JA skills, SP skills, mother-child interactions, and language development were collected at 4 time points: pre- and postintervention and 6 and 12 months postintervention by independent testers. Results indicate that expressive language gains were greater for both treatment groups compared with the control group, and results could not be explained by differences in other interventions in which children participated. For children beginning treatment with the lowest language levels, the JA intervention improved language outcome significantly more than did the SP or control interventions. These findings suggest clinically significant benefits of actively treating JA and SP skills in young children with autism.
本研究报告了一项针对自闭症学龄前儿童联合注意力（JA）和象征性游戏（SP）的随机对照试验结果，并对12个月后的语言结果进行了预测。参与者为58名3至4岁的自闭症儿童（46名男孩）。儿童被随机分为JA干预组、SP干预组或对照组。干预措施每天进行30分钟，持续5至6周。独立测试人员在4个时间点收集了JA技能、SP技能、母婴互动和语言发展的评估数据：干预前、干预后以及干预后6个月和12个月。结果表明，与对照组相比，两个治疗组的表达性语言进步更大，且结果无法用儿童参与的其他干预措施的差异来解释。对于开始治疗时语言水平最低的儿童，JA干预比SP或对照干预在改善语言结果方面更为显著。这些发现表明，积极治疗自闭症幼儿的JA和SP技能具有临床显著益处。
