Cognitive Rehabilitation of Adaptive Behavior in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis.

Only 6 trials met inclusion criteria after 3115 records were screened and 80 full texts were reviewed. Four of the 6 trials were in children with ASD, one in GDD, and one in ADHD, so findings may not apply to other neurodevelopmental disorders. The included trials used different cognitive interventions and adaptive behavior measures, so the pooled result cannot identify which component worked. The authors state that many studies did not meet inclusion criteria and that findings have limited generalizability. The funnel plot was asymmetric, although the paper reported no significant publication bias.

Do not conclude that one specific cognitive therapy caused the moderate benefit. The 6 trials used different interventions, including autism programs, theatre, synchrony, early start Denver model, institutional therapy, and working memory training, and many candidate studies were excluded.