Treatment Engagement as a Predictor of Therapy Outcome Following Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Autistic Children.
Carly S Albaum, Teresa Sellitto, Nisha Vashi and 2 others
PMID 37642867WHAT IT FOUND
In-session involvement throughout therapy predicted better emotional regulation outcomes for autistic children.
Therapeutic relationship and homework completion did not predict change. This suggests monitoring and addressing engagement issues early in treatment is key for success.
Key findings
01Overall in-session involvement significantly predicted post-treatment emotional lability and negativity scores after controlling for baseline levels.
02In-session involvement did not significantly predict improvements in adaptive emotion regulation.
03Therapeutic relationship and homework completion were not significantly associated with treatment outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (n=60) and included only children who completed the full treatment, excluding those who dropped out. The study did not pre-register its design or analysis. No adjustments were made for multiple comparisons. Coders were not blinded to participant identity or session number. The measures used were not originally developed or validated specifically for autistic populations. The sample lacked diversity in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and intellectual functioning.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, York University, and Autism Scholars Award. No specific financial conflicts of interest involving the treatment provider were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that building a strong therapeutic relationship or ensuring homework completion will improve outcomes based on this study. These factors did not predict treatment success in this sample, whereas consistent in-session involvement did.