Autism Insights

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of auditory integration training (AIT) in people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Method: Seventy two subjects with ASD aged up to 17 years old (70 male and 2 females) were recruited for the study. All subjects were screened by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (DSM-IV), and assessed by CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale). Pre-intervention scores and post-intervention (3 and 6 months) scores were calculated for each child using CARS, Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC). Auditory integration training was performed over 2 week, 30 minutes, twice a day.

Results: All subjects demonstrated improvement 3 and 6 months following the AIT. ASD subject showed 22% and 26% percentage improvement in SRS scoring 3 and 6 months respectively following the AIT intervention. Those changes were attributed to statistically significant changes in social awareness, social cognition, and social communication. Similar results were achieved with the ATEC check list: ASD subject showed 19.5% and 22.5% improvement 3 and 6 months following the AIT intervention, respectively. Those changes are due to statistically significant (P < 0.05) improvement in speech, communication and sociability only.

Conclusions: The results of this study support the therapeutic effects of auditory integration training on social awareness, social cognition, and social communication, as well as speech and communication.