Daily Life Therapy and Autism Ranking:

Future Research

Summary of Current Research Studies

There is almost no research (one very small case study) to suggest that daily life therapy is an effective intervention for autistic children and young people.

This lack of evidence does not prove or disprove the effectiveness of daily life therapy for autistic children and young people. It may simply show how little research has been conducted to date.

Recommendations for Future Research

We believe that further research into daily life therapy might be justified. Future research should

• be considerably more robust in terms of numbers and methodology used
• compare daily life therapy with other educational interventions which are commonly used to help autistic children and young people
• investigate whether the program is likely to be more effective for specific groups on the autism spectrum (such as female children or children with a verbal IQ of less than 70 or children from a minority ethnic group)
• investigate which, if any, of the components of the program are more effective than the others (such as rigorous physical exercise versus ‘group dynamics’)
• investigate whether the program provides any long term benefits in real world settings (such as in the children’s own home or the work place)
• investigate treatment fidelity (how closely the teachers did what they were supposed to do) 
• investigate the potential effects on family life

Updated

17 Jun 2022

Last Review

01 Apr 2017

Next Review

01 Aug 2023