Effects of TEACCH on social functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study looked at whether TEACCH (a structured teaching approach) helps children with autism. Researchers combined results from 11 studies involving 701 children. They found that TEACCH helped improve social skills, thinking abilities, and fine motor skills (like using hands for detailed tasks). Children also showed fewer autism-related behaviors.

However, TEACCH didn't significantly improve communication, daily living skills, copying behaviors, or verbal abilities. While promising, more research is needed to fully understand how well TEACCH works.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children) intervention on social functioning in autism spectrum disorders. The analysis included 11 studies with 701 participants, comparing TEACCH to control groups across multiple outcome measures. Results showed significant improvements in socialization scores, cognitive performance, and fine motor skills for the TEACCH group. Additionally, participants showed significant reductions in autism symptom severity as measured by standardized scales.

However, no significant differences were found for communication, daily living, imitation, or cognitive verbal skills. The authors concluded that TEACCH shows promise for improving specific domains but noted that further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness on core autism symptoms.

TEACCH appears effective for improving specific skills including social functioning, cognitive performance, and fine motor abilities. However, its limited impact on communication and daily living skills suggests it may be most beneficial as part of a comprehensive intervention approach targeting multiple developmental domains.

The abstract does not specify study quality, duration of interventions, participant characteristics, or potential sources of bias. The authors note that further studies are needed to confirm effectiveness on core autism symptoms, suggesting current evidence has limitations.

To investigate the effects of Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) on social functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Relevant studies on TEACCH intervention in ASD individuals were systematically searched in PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang from inception to March 2024. The main outcome measures were social, cognitive performance, fine motor, communication, daily living, imitation, and cognitive verbal skills. Data were meta-analyzed using R studio (4.1.2).

Eleven studies involving 701 ASD individuals were included in this study. The TEACCH group had significantly higher socialization score [MD = 0.6, 95% CI(0.2, 1.0)], Cognitive Performance Scale score [MD = 1.34, 95% CI(0.09, 2.58)], and fine motor score [MD = 0.7, 95% CI(0.4, 1.0)] but significantly lower Autism Behavior Checklist score [MD = -1.57, 95% CI(-2.11, -1.02)], Childhood Autism Rating Scale score [MD= -0.7, 95%CI(-1.0, -0.3)], and Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist score [MD= -0.7, 95% CI(-1.0, -0.3)] compared to the control group. There were no significant differences in other outcome measures. TEACCH is a promising intervention for improving the social skills, cognitive performance, and fine motor functions of ASD individuals.

However, further studies are warranted to confirm the effectiveness of TEACCH on ASD core symptoms.