Children in the focused group had four hours of therapist-led management five days a week, in addition, parents were also asked to put in at least five hours a week.
After two years, many aspects of the children mental functions were improved including IQ. However, parents should note that this study did not cure autism in any child.
While the results are great, the long-term follow up on this particular treatment is unknown. Many similar behaviour studies have shown initial improvement in autistic children with regression later on. Finally, such behavior treatments are exorbitantly expensive and can cost at least $50,000 a year. While some states require insurance companies to cover the costs, this is by no means the standard in other parts of the country.
This study was recently published in the Pediatric Journal Online