Testing autism interventions: trials and tribulations.

摘要

In The Lancet today, Jonathan Green and colleagues1 report results from a multisite randomised trial in children with autism. The investigators compared a parent-training technique that targeted enhancement of the child's social-communication skills (two of the three core deficits in autism) with treatment as usual. The primary outcome was the social-communication score from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), a widely used diagnostic tool. Secondary outcomes included parent-child interaction, child language, social communication, and measures of adaptive functioning.