Key words: autism, treatment, sensory processing
Objective: The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is rapidly growing. ASD are characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication and restricted and repetitive interests / behaviors, which has considerable impact on daily life functioning. ReAttach is a multimodal intervention based on attachment, arousal regulation and the change of information-processing and cognitive structures. We have taken the first steps to explore the benefits of ReAttach for adults and children with Asperger Syndrome, PDD-NOS, and autistic disorder and for people with both autism spectrum disorders and cognitive impairment.
Method: 8 therapists were trained to perform ReAttach with a group of participants (n=58). Comparison of the mean scores on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) before and after 5 therapy sessions was conducted with a paired samples T-test.
Results and Conclusions: In this study, we have explored the potential of 5 sessions of ReAttach to significantly improve the ATEC scores of participants diagnosed with ASD within a short period of time. Further research is required to further investigate this effect, both on long term and in a more controlled setting.
