Date of Paper/Work

12-2016

Type of Paper/Work

Research Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy

Department

Occupational Science/Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Julie D. Bass

Department/School

Occupational Therapy

Abstract

After extensive review of select auditory integration interventions including Auditory Integration Therapy (AIT), The Listening Program (TLP), and Therapeutic Listening (TL), we can conclude that many of these interventions have not been examined for use with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although some the research we found showed slight improvements in our investigated outcomes, many of them did not analyze the primary long-term outcomes of interest for occupational therapy including performance, participation, and engagement. Specialized training is required for therapists to facilitate AIT, TLP, and TL with their clients. Courses are costly ranging from $365-$2400, which further detracts the practicality of these interventions. All three of our auditory interventions were either not reviewed by the expert review groups or were investigated but not recommended. Additionally, some insurance companies and the United States Federal Drug Administration do not approve of some of the interventions and equipment required due to safety concerns and lack of evidence (UnitedHealthcare, 2016). Our preliminary recommendations are that these interventions are a Level 5. A Level 5 means that the treatment is designated as an untested/experimental treatment and/or is potentially harmful (WI Department of Health Services, 2014). Additionally, the results may not be a direct outcome of AIT, TLP, and TL due to a variety of limitations and gaps in research. Because of these gaps and limitations we can conclude that the existing research is of poor quality. Given the chosen study design in a majority of these articles, we cannot make definite conclusions that these interventions caused the differences in the outcomes. Also, due to case study designs and small sample sizes, the results cannot be generalized to the larger population. Conflicting recommendations exist for further on these auditory integration interventions. Therefore, individuals interested in conducting research should be aware of these cautions.

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