Autisim Treatment

Questions for "Evaluating Intervention Programs for Autism"

1. Why are testimonials not a good basis for making critical decisions about treatment?

Testimonials are not a good basis for making critical decisions about treatments because they are too void of concrete and proven data. I liken it to the weight loss commercials on TV, which are heavily laden with testimonials yet have not been scientifically tested or proven by the Food and Drug Administration. The term “results may vary” is common throughout these as well, with a treatment working for someone but having no effect or a detrimental effect to another. This is why there needs to be a priority in scientifically supported treatments.

2. What are the five questions advocates of treatments be asked?

The five questions advocates of treatments must be asked are:
Describe the exact purposes of the treatment – what is it intended to achieve?
Describe exactly how the treatment is conducted – there should be no mystery or secrecy about the methods and procedures being used.
Describe how treatment effects were measured – what numerical data were collected and how were they collected?
Show before and after data collected by independent – unbiased – evaluators;. and
Show follow up data – do the persons maintain gains? Do they continue to improve? Do they regress?
These questions are meant to separate the relative information about the procedures, methods, and data of the treatment from the possibl...

Autisim Treatment

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