The Immediate Effects of Deep Pressure on Young People with Autism and Severe Intellectual Difficulties: Demonstrating Individual Differences.

The study used a before-after design with no control group or randomisation, so it cannot prove that deep pressure caused the rating changes. Only eight young people were analysed; five additional young people were excluded because they had not completed enough sessions for reliable statistical analysis. The staff who delivered deep pressure also rated behaviour and mood, and many different staff members made ratings, which probably increased variability. Outcomes were simple visual analogue ratings of mood and behaviour, not standardised communication or behaviour assessments. The participants were young people in one residential school with autism and severe intellectual disability, so results may not apply to people outside this setting. The study used brushing, massage and squeezing, and results were aggregated over sessions, so the contribution of any single technique cannot be separated.

Do not conclude that deep pressure using brushing, massage or squeezing works for all young people with autism and severe intellectual disability. Two participants showed no benefit, and the study had no control group or randomisation.