Predicting Intervention Use in Youth with Rare Variants in Autism-Associated Genes.
Hannah R Benavidez, Margaret Johansson, Elizabeth Jones and 9 others
PMID 38809474WHAT IT FOUND
Youth with rare autism-associated genetic variants mostly receive speech and occupational therapy, but few receive behavioral therapy.
Younger age and lower IQ predict occupational therapy use, while formal ASD diagnosis predicts behavioral therapy. Co-occurring conditions predict lower speech therapy intensity and higher use of alternative therapies.
Key findings
01Speech therapy (87.2%) and occupational therapy (76.0%) were the most common interventions, while behavioral therapy was received by only 29.6% of the sample.
02Younger age and lower IQ predicted a higher likelihood of receiving occupational therapy, whereas a formal ASD diagnosis specifically predicted receipt of behavioral therapy.
03The presence of co-occurring DSM-5 diagnoses predicted lower intensity of speech therapy and a higher likelihood of receiving alternative therapies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was cross-sectional, so it cannot track how service needs change over time or establish causality between factors and service use. Service use was based on caregiver retrospective report, which may be subject to recall bias. The sample lacked diversity, with 92% identifying as white, limiting generalizability to other racial and ethnic groups. Analyses could not be stratified by ASD diagnosis status because too few participants lacked a diagnosis, and co-occurring conditions were combined into a single broad category due to small numbers. The study did not differentiate between school-based and private service settings, which may have different predictors of access.
Declared interests
One author is a scientific advisory board member for Variant Bio, Inc. All other authors reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by a National Institute of Mental Health grant (R01MH101221).
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that caregiver income or education drives service access in this population. The study found no significant caregiver-specific predictors for the presence or intensity of any intervention, contrasting with broader autism literature.