Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Table 6

Auditory Integration Training in ASD.

Author	Year	Type and duration of study	Sample size	Type of intervention	Comparators	Dose	Outcome measure	Findings	Comments
Bettison [66]	1996	Randomized, single blind, parallel group, placebo controlled; Duration: 12 months	(M 66; F 14); Age: 3–17 years	AIT according to Berard,	Music unmodified	Two 30 min sessions for 10 consecutive days	ABC, DBC, SSQ, SP (baseline, 1–3–6–12 months after intervention)	No differences between treatment and control group	Only blinding of outcome assessors; Statistical analysis not optimal
Edelson et al. [67]	1999	Randomized, single blind, parallel group, placebo controlled; Duration: 3 months	(M 17; F 2); Age: 4–39 years	AIT according to Berard,	Music unmodified	Two 30 min sessions for 10 consecutive days	ABCa, CRS, FAPC, auditory processing tests (SCAN and SSW), electrophysiological recordings (P300 ERP); (baseline, 1-2-3 months after)	Statistical significant difference in ABCa at 3 months	Only blinding of outcome assessors; Statistical analysis not optimal; Small sample size
Mudford et al. [68]	2000	Randomized, single blind, crossover; Duration: 14 months	(M 17; F 4); Drop-out; Age: 5.75–13.92 years	AIT according to Berard	Similar but with nonfunctional headphones and unmodified music	Two 30 min sessions for 10 consecutive days	ABCa (baseline and every month after), direct observation of behavior (baseline and every month after), Vineland, Reynell Language Developmental Scales-III, Leiter (baseline and month 14)	No significant difference between the two groups	Small sample size; High drop-out rate (low compliance); Per-protocol analysis, no intention to treat
Rimland and Edelson [69]	1995	Randomized, single blind, parallel group; Duration: 3 months	(M 12; F 6); Drop-out; Age: 4–21 years	AIT according to Berard,	Music unmodified,	Two 30 min sessions for 10 consecutive days	ABCa, FAPC, HSQ; (baseline, 2 weeks, and 1-2-3 months after)	Significant improvement in ABCa and FAPC for the experimental group	Significant difference at baseline from patients in the AIT and control group; Small sample size; Experimenter not blinded (while parents and assessors of outcome were blinded)
Veale [70]	1993	Randomized, single blind, parallel group; Duration: 3 months	Age: approximately 6–10 years	AIT according to the Clark method	Music unmodified	Two 30 min sessions for 10 consecutive days	ABCa, CRS, FAPC	Significant improvement in ABCa in the experimental group	Investigator not blinded; Insufficient data on baseline characteristics of patients; Small sample size
Zollweg et al. [71]	1997	Randomized, double blind, parallel group; Duration: 9 months	Age: 7–24 years; Diagnosis of ASD only in 9 patients	AIT	Music unmodified	Two 30 min sessions for 10 consecutive days	ABCa	No differences between treatment and control group	Not specific for ASD; Statistical analysis carried out on different sample size (28 for ABCa, 22 for loudness discomfort, 14 for pure tone threshold)

ABC, Autism Behavior Checklist; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; CRS, Conners’ Rating Scales; DBC, Developmental Behavior Checklist; FAPC, Fisher’s Auditory Problems Checklist; HSQ, Hearing Sensitivity Questionnaire; SCAN, Screening Test for Auditory Processing Disorders; SP, Sensory Problem; SSQ, Sound Sensitivity Questionnaire; SSW, Staggered Spondaic Word Test.