Little Known About Helping Teens, Adults With Autism

As a wave of kids with autism enter the transition stage, strikingly little is known about the best interventions for teens and young adults with the disorder, a new analysis finds.

In a review of more than 4,500 studies on autism interventions published between 1980 and 2011, Vanderbilt University researchers found just 32 focused on therapies for people ages 13 to 30. And among the small number of existing studies, many were poorly done, according to the analysis released this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

“Overall, there is very little evidence in all areas of care for adolescents and young adults with autism, and it is urgent that more rigorous studies be developed and conducted,” said Melissa McPheeters, director of Vanderbilt’s Evidence-Based Practice Center and senior author of the report.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Acting with autism

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- One in every 110 children is diagnosed with some level of autism. For many parents, this usually means problems with communication and little interest in interacting with others. But now a new program is changing how we look at autism by putting kids in the spotlight.


As a carefree 10-year-old Kerrick Coble doesn't hold back. But he wasn't always like this. When Kerrick was two, the Cobles' started noticing something was different about him.

"With a lot of kids you would give them something and they would play but with Kerrick there was never an 'I'm just going to play,'" Kurt Coble, Kerrick's dad told Action News.

At three, Kerrick was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder or PDD-NOS- a mild form of autism. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University are using the theater to help improve the lives of kids diagnosed with the disorder -- from mild to severe.

"We really want to understand whether these social experiences are really stressful for some of our children," Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Director of the Sense Theater at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, told Action News.

Dr. Corbett looks at social and communication skills before, during and after the camp and looks at stress levels by measuring one of the primary stress hormones -- cortisol. In three different studies, Dr. Corbett found acting improved the way kids expressed themselves and they also showed lower stress levels.

Read more of Margot Kim's, ABC 30, article HERE.