Abstract
Objectives
To evaluate the effects of cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) alone versus cognitive behavioral intervention plus emotional enhancement intervention (EEI) on adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity among a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Methods
Thirty-four children (aged 4 to 10 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving CBI plus EEI versus a CBI-only control group. Children in both groups received 24 one-hour sessions of intervention over 6 months. They were assessed on the functioning level of autism, specifically in the areas of adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity, before intervention and at 3 and 6 months using the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA) and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale, third edition (GARS-3).
Results
Children in the experimental group showed significantly greater improvement in adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity than children in the CBI-only control group.
Conclusions
Adding EEI enhances the effectiveness of CBI for improving adaptive behavior, social interaction, and emotional reciprocity in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Trial Registration
Clinical Trials Registry of India CTRI/2021/03/031763.
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Data Availability
All data are available at the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/fc9xs/).
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Acknowledgements
We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai, India, for their constant support and cooperation throughout the study. We also acknowledge the participation and contribution of all parents and children who took part in this study. We thank Jeff Sigafoos and Amy Harbison for their helpful comments on a previous draft of this manuscript. The first author wishes to thank and acknowledge the Chettinad Academy of Research and Education for financial support as a Junior Research Fellow and the Indian Council of Medical Research for a Senior Research Fellowship.
Funding
This research was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) through Socio-Behavioral & Health Systems Research (SBHSR) division as Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) with the grant no: SRF/09/2022/SBHSR.
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SK designed and executed the study and wrote the paper. KK analyzed the data. OTS: assisted with data collection. RVL analyzed the data and contributed to interpretation. SUK and CNR assisted with data collection. SR collaborated in the writing and editing of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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This study was approved by the Institution Review Board of Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chennai, India.
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Kanagaraj, S., Kancharla, K., Sridhar, O.T.S. et al. A Randomized Control Trial of Cognitive Behavior and Emotional Enhancement Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Adv Neurodev Disord 7, 203–212 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-022-00283-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-022-00283-5