Talk:Autism therapies

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[edit] DIR/Floortime

This comment was left on my talk page:

"Floortime/ DIR is deleted from Autism therapies, but that dosn't make sense since it is a therapy—a very known one actually. I would suggest adding it back as it is important to list it, just as any other Early intervention therapy. ATC . Talk 21:49, 17 May 2009 (UTC)"

It was deleted a while back because that section had no reliable sources. Do you know of any reliable sources on that therapy? That would help. Eubulides (talk) 06:14, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Reliable sources? As in, Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder's book? Amazon. This is where the therapy techniques are presented. Greenspan and Wieder have also published some articles in peer-reviewed journals considering the therapy's workings and efficacy, as well as have other psychologist;
  • The developmental individual-difference, relationship-based (DIR/Floortime) model approach to autism spectrum disorders.Citation Only Available Greenspan, Stanley I.; Wieder, Serena; In: Clinical manual for the treatment of autism. Hollander, Eric (Ed.); Anagnostou, Evdokia (Ed.); Arlington, VA, US: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2007. pp. 179-209. [Chapter]
  • Brief report: Comparative ABA and DIR trials in twin brothers with autism.Full Text Available Hilton, Jane C.; Seal, Brenda C.; Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol 37(6), Jul, 2007. pp. 1197-1201. [Journal Article]
  • Levels of infant-caregiver interactions and the DIR model: Implications for the development of signal affects, the regulation of mood and behavior, the formation of a sense of self, the creation of internal representation, and the construction of defenses and character structure.Citation Only Available Greenspan, Stanley I.; Journal of Infant, Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy, Vol 6(3), Fal, 2007. Special issue: Stanley Greenspan. pp. 174-210. [Journal Article]
  • Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: The DIR Model.Citation Only Available Wieder, Serena; Greenspan, Stanley I.; In: Mental health in early intervention: Achieving unity in principles and practice. Foley, Gilbert M.; Hochman, Jane D.; Baltimore, MD, US: Paul H Brookes Publishing, 2006. pp. 175-189. [Chapter]
And so forth. I don't have time to write this section now, but it seems bizarre that it should not exist. There are also examples of online sources, about.com, ABC News, and then the sites that talk about the therapy themselves, floortime.org and the International Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders.
The number of psychologists using or teaching this method of intervention demands that it be considered "notable." +Justin (Jldb) 11:40, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
Thanks for the sources. The most helpful ones would be reviews published in peer-reviewed journals, as per WP:MEDRS and it looks like one or two of those would qualify. I hope someone has the time to write up a brief description. Eubulides (talk) 16:34, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] This article may be biased

This needs to be made clear at the top. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.160.173.23 (talk) 19:29, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Could you please be more specific? Please quote the biased words. If you could also propose specific changes to the words, that would be helpful. Eubulides (talk) 21:13, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Son-Rise overweighted

Recent edits have added quite a bit of material to the Son-Rise section, so that it's now considerably longer than sections for therapies that reliable sources give much greater weight to (such as PRT or TEACCH). The Son-Rise section was already too long as it was, and it should be trimmed down to one short paragraph. The extra detail can be moved to the Son-Rise article, if it isn't there already. Eubulides (talk) 00:38, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Exorcism, communion, etc.

A recent set of edits added this material:

'There have been documented cases of exorcism used to attempt to treat autistic individuals, which have resulted in negative outcomes including bodily injury and death.<ref>Collins, Dan (Aug 25, 2003). "Autistic Boy Dies During Exorcism". Milwaukee: CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/25/national/main570077.shtml. Retrieved 19 November 2009. </ref><ref>Chew, PhD, Kristina (July 31, 2007). "Attempted Exorcism of Autistic Teenager in Indiana". Blisstree. http://www.blisstree.com/articles/attempted-exorcism-of-autistic-teenager-in-indiana/. Retrieved 19 November 2009. </ref>'

plus a new section titled "Spiritual management" containing this material:

'Autism is currently a new disorder (spiritually speaking) and traditional religious doctrine does not mention autism as "autism". ¶ Most churches do lean towards providing support, although not always in traditional ways. Misunderstandings may also cloud support.<ref>Clancy, Michael (March 04, 2006). "Church denies Communion to autistic boy". The Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0304communion0304.html. Retrieved 19 November 2009. </ref> ¶ Some behaviors of autism (sensitivity to texture or loud noises, for example) may make it difficult or impossible to attend services or perform important rituals (such as First Communion). Some online churches have sprung up to deal with this.<ref>Autistic Bible Church</ref> Others may attend special classes,<ref>Zezima, Katie (February 19, 2005). "Dealing With Autism, Lesson by Lesson, in a Quest for First Communion". LAWRENCE, Mass: The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/national/19religion.html. Retrieved 19 November 2009. </ref> or worship privately.'

The new "Spiritual management" has nothing to do with autism therapies: it's about religious practices such as communion. The material about exorcism is arguably about therapy, but the current wording is clearly original research, as neither of the cited sources comes to a conclusion that directly supports the claim in question. I attempted to fix the problem by rewriting the new section based on more-reliable sources, moving the exorcism material there. Eubulides (talk) 08:04, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

I tried to present the fact that some autistic people and their families may be religious (in a non-extreme sense). One gets the sense, reading the articles on Autism, that all autistic people are atheists. Some research (googling 'autism+religion') revealed that this is not the case. Also it was not only "about religious practices such as communion." That was merely one example. Admittedly, this is an emerging topic, so reliable sources may be few. The current piece leaves the impression that only autistic extremists are religious. Please add something to reflect that this is not the case. --Auric (talk) 15:20, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
We'd need a reliable source to make that point: we can't simply add it on our own. Do you have a reliable source? Please see WP:MEDRS for the sort of sources we're looking for, when talking about therapies. Eubulides (talk) 17:50, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
This is difficult since science and religion are not really on the same page (ask your doctor on your next visit what supplements you need to prevent demonic possession to see what I mean). I'll give it a shot though. Thanks.--Auric (talk) 20:10, 20 November 2009 (UTC)
Thanks, that edit cited a reliable source, but it mischaracterized what that primary study found. First, it wasn't a study of outcomes among autistic individuals: it studied only outcomes among mothers of autistic children. So it wasn't thinking of spirituality as an autism therapy. Second, an important result of this study is that religious activities were negatively correlated with outcomes; we can't fairly cite the study without mentioning that. Can you please fix these two problems? (We have to bear in mind of course that this is just one primary study and shouldn't be given much WP:WEIGHT.) Eubulides (talk) 22:58, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Investigative report blasts autism quackery

In a two-part series, the Chicago Tribune has laid bare how misguided practitioners are administering treatments that are unsubstantiated, expensive, and dangerous. The first part dissects and debunks claims made for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), hyperbaric oxygen, chelation, phenylbutyrate, and various supplement programs:

The second part describes how proponents claim that certain studies support what they do, but the authors of these studies state that they are being misinterpreted:

The articles were published despite legal threats from several of the parties they criticized.

Brangifer (talk) 15:35, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

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