TEACCH and SIT Approach Program in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Objective: Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT) is one of the most commonly used treatment approaches for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children (TEACCH) is another less known approach in Iran. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of SIT and TEACCH approaches in children with ASD. Design: The study design was quasi- experimental, which was conducted on 2014 in Autism center of Bushehr city, based in south of Iran. Method: Study participants were children aged 3 to 9 with normal IQ who were diagnosed with ASD. Intervention included SIT and TEACCH treatment approaches for a 6 months duration to two groups of children (n=20). One group did not receive any intervention during the 6 months. Main outcome was the total score of Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC). Results: There was no significant difference in ATEC score between the three groups at the base line. ATEC score was significantly different among three groups after intervention using one-way ANOVA test. Tukey test showed that TEACCH group had more improvement in autism score compared to SIT group. The results of ANCOVA test showed that 70% of variation in autism score is due to the interventional approaches. Conclusion: This study showed that TEACCH program was effective in Iranian culture as well, and can be used widely in Iranian Autism centers and TEACCH program was more effective than SIT program.

Keywords

• Autism
• Sensory Integration Therapy
• TEACCH
• Iran