Objective

Theory suggests that impaired executive functioning (EF) might explain several symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. However, only a few studies have examined the efficacy of EF training for the children using randomized control trial designs, and only two of them found significant benefits of the training.

Method

We designed Comprehensive Attention Training System (CATS), and tested this new EF intervention for children with ASD in a small-sampled randomized controlled trial. Twenty-five children with ASD aged six to twelve were randomly assigned to either the CATS or the control training and were assessed pre- and post-training.

Results

Relative to the control group, the CATS group improved on EF as measured by the trail-making test, avoiding perseverative errors, and forming conceptual responses in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task. There were also indications that CATS contributed to long-term communication skills as measured by the Vineland adaptive behavior scales.

Conclusions

We report preliminary evidence that the CATS intervention may improve the EF of school-aged children with ASD compared to a control intervention. We discuss the results in terms of their generalizability to other developmental disorders.

中文翻译：

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综合注意力训练系统（CATS）：针对自闭症谱系障碍学龄儿童的计算机化执行功能训练

客观的

理论表明，执行功能受损 (EF) 可能可以解释儿童自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的几种症状。然而，只有少数研究使用随机对照试验设计检查了 EF 训练对儿童的效果，其中只有两项发现训练有显着益处。

方法

我们设计了综合注意力训练系统 (CATS)，并在一项小样本随机对照试验中测试了这种针对自闭症儿童的新 EF 干预措施。25 名 6 至 12 岁的 ASD 儿童被随机分配到 CATS 或对照训练，并在训练前和训练后进行评估。

结果

相对于对照组，CATS 组通过跟踪测试测量的 EF 有所提高，避免了持续性错误，并在威斯康星卡片分类任务中形成了概念性反应。也有迹象表明，CATS 有助于通过 Vineland 适应性行为量表衡量的长期沟通技巧。

结论

我们报告的初步证据表明，与对照干预相比，CATS 干预可能会提高患有 ASD 的学龄儿童的 EF。我们根据它们对其他发育障碍的普遍性来讨论结果。