A Randomized Control Trial of Cognitive Behavior and Emotional Enhancement Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Published in: Advances in neurodevelopmental disorders Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 203 - 212
• Main Authors: Kanagaraj, Sagayaraj, Kancharla, Kinjari, Sridhar, O. T. Sabari, Lakshmi, R. Vani, Karthikeyan, Sundaravadivel, Gopal, C. N. Ram, Ramdoss, Sathiyaprakash
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Autistic children; Behavior; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Cognition & reasoning; Decision making; Developmental Psychology; Emotions; Intervention; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Power; Psychiatry; Psychologists; Psychology; Public Health; Skills; Social Work; Sociodemographics; Cognitive behavioral intervention; ASD; Emotional enhancement intervention; Randomized control trial; Autism spectrum disorder
• ISSN: 2366-7532; 2366-7540
• DOI: 10.1007/s41252-022-00283-5

Objectives To evaluate the effects of cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) alone versus cognitive behavioral intervention plus emotional enhancement intervention (EEI) on adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity among a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods Thirty-four children (aged 4 to 10 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving CBI plus EEI versus a CBI-only control group. Children in both groups received 24 one-hour sessions of intervention over 6 months. They were assessed on the functioning level of autism, specifically in the areas of adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity, before intervention and at 3 and 6 months using the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA) and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale, third edition (GARS-3). Results Children in the experimental group showed significantly greater improvement in adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity than children in the CBI-only control group. Conclusions Adding EEI enhances the effectiveness of CBI for improving adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Trial Registration Clinical Trials Registry of India CTRI/2021/03/031763.