Effect of auditory integration training on core symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders whose auditory conduction dysfunction repaired

Objective To explore the improvement of core symptoms in children with autism whose auditory pathway dysfunction were repaired after accepting auditory integration training(AIT). Methods The ASD children with abnormal auditory evoked potentials were divided into AIT group (the ones whose BAEP return to normal after AIT training into test group), control group A (blank control group) and control group B (ABA training group). The ASD children were assessed by Portage Development Checklist, Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Therapy Assessment Scale (ATEC) at the time of admission, one month after admission, three months after admission.The curative effect with the change value of each factor fraction was evaluated. Results At the time of enrollment, there were no significant differences among the scores of CARS((36.31±4.08), (36.33±3.76), (36.33±5.14)) as well as ATEC language ((19.08±6.43), (16.40±6.42), (18.48±5.96)), social ((15.63±7.13), (16.05±7.57), (16.19±7.19)), and perception ((16.78±5.39) (16.92±6.75), (17.12±6.73)) and self-care ((15.98±8.71), (17.93±8.22), (17.26±8.93), respectively)) in the AIT group, control group B and control group A. After one month and three months from enrollment, the scores of CARS were ((33.96±3.79), (35.09±4.38) and (34.30±3.98), respectively after one month; (32.95±3.15), (36.86±3.86) and (33.95±3.90), respectively) after three months in the AIT group, control group B and control group A. The repeated measurement analysis of variance showed that the main effect of time was significant (F=22.308, P 0.05), and there was interaction between time and group (F= 8.626, P 0.05). Multiple comparisons showed that the scores of ATEC self-care ability scale between the AIT group and the control group A were statistically significant (I-J=-4.46, P<0.05). Conclusion The results of this study show that AIT training can improve the core symptoms of the ASD children whose BAEP returns to normal. Key words: Autism spectrum disorder; Auditory integration training; Brainstem auditory evoked potential; Effects