Supplementing applied behavioral analysis with speech-language therapy better improves the language ability of children on the autism spectrum / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe any effect of supplementing applied behavior analysis with speech-and-language therapy in improving the language ability of children on the autism spectrum.Methods:A total of 60 children with an autism spectrum disorder were divided at random into an experimental group ( n=30) and a control group ( n=30). The control group accepted 3 hours of applied behavior analysis 5 days per week for 3 consecutive months. Over the same period the experiment group accepted 1.5 hours of applied behavior analysis and 1.5 hours of speech-language therapy. Before and after the intervention, sign-significate relations (S-S) and the language retardation examination were used to evaluate the language comprehension, expression, oral communication, the complexity of oral expression content, and the vocabulary of comprehension and expression of the two groups. Results:After the intervention, comprehension and expression in each stage of the S-S had improved significantly in both groups, but the average comprehension and language expression of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group. Oral communication improved significantly in both groups but complexity and the vocabulary used had improved significantly more in the experimental group.Conclusion:Supplementing applied behavioral analysis with speech-language therapy can improve the language ability of children on the autism spectrum significantly better than behavioral analysis alone.