Making Research Possible: Barriers and Solutions For Those With ASD and ID.
Audrey Thurm, Alycia Halladay, David Mandell and 3 others
PMID 34716842WHAT IT FOUND
Most clinical trials for autism exclude people with intellectual disability, either explicitly or through rigid criteria.
This limits the applicability of findings to those who need support most. Researchers must adapt methods and consent processes to include this population.
Key findings
01A review of registered studies found that 42% of autism trials explicitly or implicitly exclude people with intellectual disability.
02Exclusion often occurs via proxies for intellectual disability, such as criteria excluding genetic conditions or severe neurological issues, rather than direct IQ cutoffs.
03Standard research measures often lack validity for people with severe intellectual disability due to floor effects and lack of standardization.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
This is a narrative review and opinion piece, not a primary study with patient outcomes. The review of ClinicalTrials.gov was non-systematic and limited to specific search terms and dates. The paper does not report on the effectiveness of the proposed inclusion strategies.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest are reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this paper as evidence that current autism treatments are ineffective for people with intellectual disability. It reports on who was included in research, not on clinical outcomes.