The efficacy of rehabilitative interventions and pharmacological treatments for children aged 2 to 12 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

In September 2013, the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) published a notice entitled The efficacy of rehabilitative interventions and pharmacological therapies for children aged 2 to 12 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The notice pointed out that knowledge in this area is developing rapidly and called the reader’s attention to publications contemporaneous with the publication of the notice that dealt with the same issues as those examined in the notice

In the winter of 2014, INESSS therefore undertook to provide an update on the literature relevant to the notice for the period from 2010 to 2013. The objective of this addendum is twofold: to determine the extent to which the recent literature confirms or does not confirm the conclusions on which the notice’s recommendations are based and to indicate any possible adjustments in the event that new data warrant changes thereto; and to provide information on the development of knowledge in the area of rehabilitative interventions and pharmacological therapies and to indicate resources that could support measures to diversify services for children aged 2 to 12 years with ASD.

There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children over the past decade. The services currently in place are encountering organizational problems. They only partially meet the diverse needs of children and their families, and the scientific data concerning their efficacy are fragmentary.

This notice covers the efficacy of the rehabilitative interventions for ASD children aged 2 to 12 years, including those that involve the parents, and the efficacy and safety of the pharmacological treatments administered to these children. The notice ends with a series of recommendations.