Children with autism exhibit similar longitudinal changes in core symptoms when placed in special or mainstream education settings.
Michal Ilan, Michal Faroy, Ditza Zachor and 8 others
PMID 36632654WHAT IT FOUND
In 121 preschool children with autism, core symptoms changed similarly in special and mainstream education.
More children in mainstream moved to higher speech levels on the autism assessment, but detailed language scores did not differ.
Key findings
01Changes in total core autism symptom severity did not differ significantly between children placed in special and mainstream education.
02A larger proportion of children in mainstream education moved to ADOS modules requiring higher spoken language, including in matched subgroups.
03Children diagnosed at a younger age showed larger improvement in core symptom severity over time, regardless of educational setting.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Children were not randomly assigned to special or mainstream education, so baseline differences and therapy exposure could explain the results. The mainstream group started with higher cognitive and spoken language scores and had parents with more years of education. The study used a convenience sample from one centre, so it may not apply to other systems. Outcomes were limited to core autism symptoms and coarse language estimates; cognitive, adaptive and behavioural outcomes were not examined. Language was measured by ADOS-2 module changes and one ADOS-2 item, not by formal speech-language testing. The study did not examine family stress, quality of life, or benefits to typically developing peers.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding came from the Azrieli National Center, which is supported by grants from the Azrieli Foundation, the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, and an Israel Science Foundation grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that placement alone caused similar outcomes or that mainstream education improves language. The children were not randomly assigned, the groups differed at baseline in cognition, language and parental education, and the language finding was based on coarse ADOS module changes while finer ADOS language scores did not differ.