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This study evaluated the effects of therapeutic horseback riding on social functioning in children with autism. We hypothesized that participants in the experimental condition ( n  = 19), compared to those on the wait-list control ( n  = 15), would demonstrate significant improvement in social functioning following a 12-weeks horseback riding intervention. Autistic children exposed to therapeutic horseback riding exhibited greater sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, social motivation, and less inattention, distractibility, and sedentary behaviors. The results provide evidence that therapeutic horseback riding may be a viable therapeutic option in treating children with autism spectrum disorders.

Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) autistic transition-aged youth (TAY) report lower rates of competitive employment compared to White autistic TAY and even greater deficits with social skills associated with positive job interviewing. A virtual job interviewing program was adapted to support and improve the job interviewing skills of autistic TAY. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of an efficacious virtual interview training program on the job interview skills, interview anxiety, and likeliness to be hired, for a subsample of 32 BIPOC autistic TAY, ages 17–26 years old from a previous randomized control trial of the program. Bivariate analyses were used to evaluate between-group differences at pre-test related to background characteristics, and whether Virtual Interview Training for Transition-Age Youth (VIT-TAY) was associated with changes between pre-test and post-test measures of job interview skills. Additionally, a Firth logistic regression was conducted to examine the relationship between VIT-TAY and competitive integrative employment at 6 months, covarying for fluid cognition, having ever had a job interview, and baseline employment status. Participants receiving pre-employment services (Pre-ETS) and virtual interview training had better job interview skills (F = 12.7, ρ < .01; η ρ 2  = .32), lower job interview anxiety (F = .3.96, ρ < .05; η ρ 2  = .12), and a higher likeliness of receiving employment (F = 4.34, ρ < .05; η ρ 2  = .13 at the 6-month follow up compared to participants that only had Pre-ETS. Findings from this study suggest that virtual interview training for TAY is effective for BIPOC autistic TAY in improving their interview skills to gain competitive employment and lower their job interview anxiety.

This study evaluated Mind Reading, an interactive systematic guide to emotions, for its effectiveness in teaching adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA) to recognize complex emotions in faces and voices. Experiment 1 tested a group of adults diagnosed with AS/HFA (n = 19) who used the software at home for 10–15 weeks. Participants were tested on recognition of faces and voices at three different levels of generalization. A matched control group of adults with AS/HFA (n = 22) were assessed without any intervention. In addition, a third group of general population controls (n = 24) was tested. Experiment 2 repeated the design of Experiment 1 with a group of adults with AS/HFA who used the software at home and met in a group with a tutor on a weekly basis. They were matched to a control group of adults with AS/HFA attending social skills training and to a general population control group (n = 13 for all three groups). In both experiments the intervention group improved significantly more than the control group on close, but not distant, generalization tasks. Verbal IQ had significant effects in Experiment 2. Using Mind Reading for a relatively short period of time allows users to learn to recognize a variety of complex emotions and mental states. However, additional methods are required to enhance generalization.The first author was supported by the National Alliance for Autism Research, the Corob Charitable Trust, the Cambridge Overseas Trust and B'nai B'rith Leo Baeck scholarships. The second author was supported by the Shirley Foundation, the Medical Research Council, and the Three Guineas Trust. We are grateful to the following for helping with this study: our participants, Red Green and Blue Ltd, Jessica Kingsley Ltd, Pamela Yates for arranging and running the social skills groups, Andrea Macleod and Rob Whiskens (Autism West Midlands), Jill Howard (Autism London), Lynne Moxon (European Services for People with Autism), and Harriet Fisher and James Graham (The Interact Centre). Many thanks to Jacqueline Hill, Chris Ashwin, Sally Wheelwright, Matthew Belmonte, Yael Golan, Sarah Johnson, Emma Chapman, and Ilaria Minio Paluello. A version of this work was presented at the International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR), May 2004.

A randomised controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of the Integrated Employment Success Tool (IEST™) in improving employers’ self-efficacy in modifying the workplace for individuals on the autism spectrum. Employers (N = 84) were randomised to the IEST™ or support as usual groups. Measurements of self-efficacy, knowledge and attitudes towards disability in the workplace were obtained at baseline and post-test. Results revealed a significant improvement in self-efficacy within the IEST™ group between baseline and post-test (p = 0.016). At post-test, there were no significant differences between groups in relation to self-efficacy in implementing autism-specific workplace modifications and employer attitudes towards disability in the workplace. Given the lack of significant outcomes, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the IEST™ for employers. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry #ACTRN12614000771651, registered 21/7/2014. Trial URLhttps://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=366699.

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are versatile task organizers that hold promise as assistive technologies for people with cognitive-behavioral challenges. This delayed randomized controlled trial compared two groups of adult workers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to determine whether the use of an Apple iPod Touch PDA as a vocational support improves work performance and reduces personal support needs on the job. Baseline data were collected on 50 adults with ASD who were beginning a vocational placement supported by a job coach. Participants were randomized to receive training in the use of a PDA as a vocational aid upon starting their job or after working 12 weeks without PDA support. Workers who received PDA training at the beginning of their job placement required significantly less hours of job coaching support ( p  = 0.013) during their first 12 weeks on the job than those who had not yet received the intervention. Functional performance between the two groups was not significantly different. The significant difference in hours of job coaching support persisted during the subsequent 12 weeks, in which both groups used a PDA ( p  = 0.017).

This RCT investigated whether the effect of a Theory of Mind (ToM) intervention for children with ASD was moderated by parental education level and employment, family structure, and parental ASD. Children with autism aged 8–13 years ( n  = 136) were randomized over a waitlist control or treatment condition. At posttest, children in the treatment condition had more ToM knowledge, showed fewer autistic features, and more ToM-related behavior than children in the control condition. Children who had one or two parents with at least a college degree, and children with parents not diagnosed with/suspected of having ASD themselves benefitted from the training. These findings provide valuable information about family variables that need to be taken into account in treatment design and implementation.

In a report of the effectiveness of MEHRIT, a social-interaction-based intervention for autism, Casenhiser et al. (Autism 17(2):220–241, 2013 ) failed to find a significant advantage for language development in the treatment group using standardized language assessments. We present the results from a re-analysis of their results to illustrate the importance of measuring communicative language acts (formally called “speech acts”). Reanalysis confirmed that children in the MEHRIT group outperformed the community treatment group on measures of MLUm, number of utterances produced, and various speech act categories. The study underscores the importance of functional language measures in guiding and evaluating treatment for children with autism, and suggests that MEHRIT is effective in improving children’s use of language during parent–child interactions.

This pilot study investigated the efficacy of a novel virtual reality-cognitive rehabilitation (VR-CR) intervention to improve contextual processing of objects in children with autism. Previous research supports that children with autism show deficits in contextual processing, as well as deficits in its elementary components: abstraction and cognitive flexibility. Methods. Four children with autism participated in a multiple-baseline, single-subject study. The children were taught how to see objects in context by reinforcing attention to pivotal contextual information. Results. All children demonstrated statistically significant improvements in contextual processing and cognitive flexibility. Mixed results were found on the control test and changes in context-related behaviours. Conclusions. Larger-scale studies are warranted to determine the effectiveness and usability in comprehensive educational programs.