An Autistica consultation published this month found that 24% of children with autism were non-verbal or minimally verbal, and it is known that these problems can persist into adulthood. Professionals have long attempted to support the development of language in these children but with mixed outcomes. An estimated 600,000 people in the UK and 70 million worldwide have autism, a neuro-developmental condition which is life-long.
Today, scientists at the University of Birmingham publish a paper in Frontiers in Neuroscience showing that while not all of the current interventions used are effective, there is real hope for progress by using interventions based on understanding natural language development and the role of motor and "motor mirroring" behaviour in toddlers.
The researchers, led by Dr Joe McCleery, who is supported by autism research charity Autistica, examined over 200 published papers and more than 60 different intervention studies, and found that:
With the support of Autistica, the UK's leading autism research charity, Dr McCleery's team have now embarked on new work which builds on these findings to design interventions which specifically target the aspects of development where there are deficits in non-verbal autistic children.
Dr McCleery says: "We feel that the field is approaching a turning point, with potentially dramatic breakthroughs to come in both our understanding of communication difficulties in people with autism, and the potential ways we can intervene to make a real difference for those children who are having difficulties learning to speak."
Christine Swabey, CEO of Autistica, says: "80% of the parents in our recent consultation wanted interventions straight after diagnosis. Dr McCleery's work shows how critical it is for all intervention to be evidence-based, and that the best approaches are based on a real understanding of the development of difficulties in autism. We are proud to be supporting the next steps in this vital research which will improve the quality of life for people with autism."
Alison Hardy, whose son Alfie is six, says: "As a parent of an autistic child, who is non-verbal, I feel quite vulnerable. People are always saying "try this, it worked wonders for us". But you can't try everything. We need a proper, scientific evidence base for what works and what does not. Then we can focus our time and our effort, with some confidence that we have a chance of helping our children. The publication of this research is an exciting step in giving us that confidence, it is great that Autistica is supporting this vital work."
The paper is published in the peer-reviewed, open-access journal Frontiers in Neuroscience , and as part of a Research Topic titled 'Autism: The Movement Perspective' consisting of a special collection of papers on Autism, available here: http://www.frontiersin.org/Integrative_Neuroscience/researchtopics/Autism_The_Movement_Perspectiv/801
Article title: Motor Development and Motor Resonance Difficulties in Autism: Relevance to Early Intervention for Language and Communication Skills
Authors: Joseph P. Mccleery, Natasha A. Elliott, Dimitrios S. Sampanis and Chrysi A. Stefanidou
Journal: Frontiers in Neuroscience
doi: 10.3389/fnint.2013.00030
For online articles, please link to the paper, which will be available on this active URL when the embargo lifts: http://www.frontiersin.org/Integrative_Neuroscience/10.3389/fnint.2013.00030/abstract
For more information, high resolution photographs, interviews or comment please contact Olivia Curno at Autistica on: 07870 606 563 or Olivia.curno@autistica.org.uk
About Autistica
Autistica is the UK's largest charitable funder of autism research. Founded in 2004, they have raised and invested over £4 million in pioneering research to understand the causes of autism, improve diagnosis and explore new interventions. Autistica is completely dependent on donations, please give: http://www.autistica.org.uk
About Frontiers
Frontiers, a partner of Nature Publishing Group, is one of the largest and fastest growing open-access publishers world-wide. Based in Switzerland, and formed by scientists in 2007, its mission is to empower all academic communities to drive research publishing and communication into the 21st century with Open Science tools. For more information, please visit: w http://www.frontiersin.org
Frontiers in Neuroscience