Comparative Efficacy of Family-Mediated Intervention Versus Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention on Developmental Domains in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood in which there is a deficit in social and communicative skill, and the child shows restricted and repetitive behavior. For children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, family-mediated intervention and early intensive behavioral intervention are considered standard of care. The study aimed to compare their efficacy on social skills and other developmental domains in our cultural context. Methods: This study was a parallel-arm, open-label, randomized active-controlled clinical trial. Fifty children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were randomly assigned to either the family-mediated intervention or early intensive behavioral intervention groups. Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist was applied at 0, 12, and 24 weeks. Results: The difference in the mean value of Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist at the end of 24 weeks from the initial value was significantly better in the family-mediated intervention as compared to the early intensive behavioral intervention group in social (mean difference = −16.8, 95% CI = −27.18, −6.49, p = .002) as well as fine motor, cognitive, and overall development. In other developmental domains of Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist, the family-mediated intervention group performed better in comparison to the early intensive behavioral intervention group at different time periods although not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that, throughout the course of 24 weeks of treatment, autism spectrum disorder children in family-mediated intervention showed a distinct improvement in major developmental domains. Family-mediated intervention can be advocated for autism spectrum disorder children in our cultural context in view of improved functioning in major developmental domains in the background of our study findings.