June 4, 2005 Autism therapy is bedeviled by unpredictable
outcomes. Even with the best behavioral treatments, which are
the only ones to have been scientifically demonstrated to work
-- says Laura Schreibman, professor of psychology and director
of the Autism Research Program at UCSD -- some children improve
dramatically, some only somewhat and others not at all. Many
families try one thing after another, losing precious months
before hitting on the therapeutic method best suited for their
autistic child. Given the importance of early intervention,
Schreibman said, "we need to get it right the first time." A new
study coauthored by Schreibman and recent doctoral graduate
Michelle Sherer successfully matches autistic children with an
appropriate therapy. Published in the June issue of the American
Psychological Association's Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, the study is the first to develop and test a
predictive profile of children likely to respond to a particular
treatment, in this case Pivotal