The autism therapy industry comes to today’s moment of massive investment interest and technological innovation while still in its scientific infancy. Consider that Donald Triplett, who is widely regarded as the proverbial “Case 1” of autism as a diagnosed condition, died less than a year ago.
With increased awareness, better diagnostic sensitivity and wider assessment criteria, the U.S. has seen the rate among children balloon to 1 in 36 children as assessed in 2020. It was 1 in 150 in 2000, according to the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
In parallel, research and business seek to meet the moment and fill in the knowledge gaps for the care and condition of an increasing number of people.
Here’s a roundup of recent research that those interested in the business of autism therapy should keep in mind.
VR’s use with high-functioning autistic individuals
Researchers assessed where virtual reality (VR) has been researched with autistic patients that are considered high functioning. The researchers published a study that identified four specific applications of VR for autism support, including social skills, motor learning, eye gaze and joint attention and job training.
The scoping review found that the majority of research on the use of VR with high-functioning autism patients was focused on children.
“Early assessments and interventions are more likely to produce major long-term effects,” the study reads. “The percentage of individuals below 18 years of age is representative of half of the included studies, so aiming future studies at early stages of development might be an asset in preparing the next generation of young adults to cope with age-related challenges.”
The research found that little work exists on the topic overall, but that VR could impact on the specific skills identified in the study. As VR itself improves and becomes more accessible, VR interventions could become more engaging and effective.
The startup Floreo uses VR to create consistent therapy interventions for neurodiverse patients, including autism. Recently, the company announced it acquired a diagnostic tool from Cleveland Clinic Innovations and received an investment from CCI.
Virtual reality’s application in the real world faces economic constraints. It exists outside of the world of medical coding, leaving it on the outside looking in to much of the health services industry. Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created a so-called “HCPCS” code for VR programming related to cognitive behavioral therapy.
TMS for sleep challenges
Sleep challenges are common among those with autism. Previous research puts the range of those with autism struggling with a sleeping issue at between 50% and 80% with further potential connections between sleeping issues and developmental barriers.
A paper from Australian researchers suggests using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to alleviate sleep difficulties.
“The rTMS effects on the pathophysiological pathways hypothesised to underpin autism and sleep difficulties are well-established in the literature,” the paper reads. “However, clinical evidence of its potential to improve sleep difficulties in children with autism is limited.”
Typically, dealing with sleep challenges starts with practices such as sleep hygiene, faded bedtime or chronotherapy. rTMS is used on similar parts of the brain that impact sleep difficulties, and some researchers looking at rTMS for other conditions have seen sleep improvements in their data.
The interconnection between autism and other comorbidities highlights the challenge of providing holistic care for patients with autism. Increasingly, autism therapy providers are looking to be an all-in-one provider — at least as much as the economics allow them — to simplify the lives of patients and their caregivers. This includes bundling up more expected services like development pediatrics and less expected specialties like dentistry.
The connection between autism and heart disease
New research finds strong associations between congenital heart disease (CHD) and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism.
An analysis of pediatric patients found a “suggesting association” between heart conditions and speech disorders, “potential statistically significant association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and that the severity of a heart condition was significantly associated with autism.
The study assessed data from over 85,000 children aged 17-years-old and younger from the National Survey of Children’s Health.
“Our results are consistent with some of the previous studies,” the study reads. “Previous small sample studies have already found that children with left ventricular hypoplasia syndromes have a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with autism than children without CHD.”
The research does not make causal connections between conditions. It does cite other studies that have previously found overlapping genetic mutations in patients with autism and CHD.
Misinformation, social media and self-diagnosis
While medical misinformation pre-dates the internet itself by a long shot, the explosion of social media utilization may be contributing to incorrect understandings about autism as a condition. A recent study took a stab at examining the reach and accuracy of information about autism on the video sharing platform TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform ever.
The research, coming from Drexel University, found that videos categorized as “#Autism” accrued 11.5 billion views. Of the top 133 videos that shared autism-specific information, 27% were deemed “accurate,” 41% were deemed “inaccurate” and 32% were deemed “overgeneralized.” Those top videos racked up 198.7 million views.
“There were no significant differences in engagement between accurate and inaccurate/overgeneralized videos,” the paper states. “Most of the information provided, however, appears to be misaligned with current knowledge.”
Videos made by health care professionals were more likely to be accurate.
“Many autistic individuals and their families have expressed concerns related to harmful autism misinformation videos shared on TikTok (e.g., anti-vaccination myths),” Elisabeth Sheridan, associate professor at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute and a co-author of the study, said in a news release. “Given the reach of these videos, we hope future studies will continue to explore the effect social media has for autistic individuals and their families.”