Review Article
Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder
| Author | Year | Type and duration of study | Sample size | Type of intervention | Comparators | Dose | Outcome measure | Findings | Comments |
| Rosenblatt et al. [86] | 2011 | Open label Duration 8 weeks | (M 22; F 2) Drop-out (initially enrolled 33) Age: 3–18 years | Yoga (plus dance plus music) | None | 45 min for 8 sessions | BASC, ABC | Improvement, but no change in ABC | Open label design Few baseline characteristics of study participants High drop-out rate |
| Koenig et al. [87] | 2012 | Open label pretest-posttest control group design Duration 16 weeks | (M 37; F 9) Drop-out (originally recruited ) Age: 5–12 years | Yoga
| School normal activities | 15–20 min/day | ABC, Vineland | Improvement with moderate effect size in the experimental group | Open label design Statistical analysis not optimal Blinding not reported No placebo group |
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Chan et al. [88] | 2013 | Randomized, parallel group Duration 4 weeks | (gender not reported for the all sample) Age: 6–17 years | Mind-body exercise (Nei Yang Gong) Drop-out | Progressive Muscle Relaxation Drop-out | Twice per week | Tower of London Test, CCTT, Five Point Test, ATEC, event-related EEG assessment | Significant improvement in the experimental group in self-control | Blinding not reported No placebo condition Only per protocol analysis |
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ABC, Aberrant Behavioral Checklist; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; ATEC, Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist; BASC, Behavioral Assessment System for Children; CCTT, Children’s Color Trails Test.
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