A review of the effectiveness of ABA-based interventions in managing children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder - A review of the effectiveness

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a global health concern affecting children and adolescents, primarily through deficits in social communication and social cognition, including pragmatic language, emotional recognition and regulation, and Theory of Mind. The impairments involve difficulty using verbal and nonverbal language for social purposes, adapting communication to context, and understanding implicit narrative meaning, alongside reduced flexibility and structural language skills. This review evaluates ABA-based interventions for improving social communication and reducing stereotypical behaviors using PRISMA guidelines, reporting notable gains in pragmatic communication but limited improvement in socio-emotional perception and limited evidence for Theory of Mind.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Reading Time20 min

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Abstract

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I. INTRODUCTION

Present study

International Journal of Studies in Inclusive Education E-ISSN: 3008-1866, P-ISSN: 3008-1858 Vol 2, No. 3, pp 30-38. [https://doi.org/10.38140/ijsie.v2i3.2121](https://doi.org/10.38140/ijsie.v2i3.2121)[ ](https://doi.org/10.38140/ijsie.v2i3.2121)GAERPSY Publishing, 2025 Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. History of the Article Submitted 07 July 2025 Revised 07 September 2025 Accepted 04 October 2025 Published 30 November 2025 A review of the effectiveness of ABA-based interventions in managing children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1* Akinwale, Gbenusola Abike, & 2Olayiwola, Taiwo Busola 1Department of Political Studies and International Relations, North West University, South Africa 12Department of Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Nigeria 1*[Primary author:](Primary author: gakinwale@unilag.edu.ng)[ ](Primary author: gakinwale@unilag.edu.ng)[gakinwale@unilag.edu.ng](Primary author: gakinwale@unilag.edu.ng) Abstract—Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a global health concern mainly affecting children and adolescents. The deficit in social communication is characterised by impairments in pragmatic language skills and social cognition, which includes emotional recognition and regulation, as well as Theory of Mind. The impairments include the inability to use verbal and nonverbal language for social purposes, adapting communication to match the context, following the rules of narratives, understanding what is not explicitly stated, flexibility in planning communication contexts, understanding and attributing mental and emotional states, as well as impairments in structural language. This study reviews the effectiveness of interventions that are based on the principles of ABA on social communication skills and reducing stereotypical behavioural patterns among children with ASD. The study used PRISMA guidelines. A PICO Findings from the current review indicated significant effectiveness in pragmatic language communication, with little improvement on socio-emotional perception skills, especially complex emotional skills. At the same time, its effectiveness on TOM has not been tested or observed. The current review also highlighted the effects of ABA-based interventions in managing stereotypic behaviours. Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, ABA-based interventions, Social communication, To cite this article (APA): Akinwale, G. A., & Olayiwola, T. B. (2025) . A review of the effectiveness of ABA-based interventions in managing children with autistic spectrum disorder. International Journal of Studies in Inclusive Education, 2(3), 30-38. [https://doi.org/10.38140/ijsie.v2i3.2121](https://doi.org/10.38140/ijsie.v2i3.2121) I. INTRODUCTION AAUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) is one of the most common types of developmental disabilities that affects social and communication skills. This deficit in ASD is the inability to transmit one’s messages, such as wishes, demands, thoughts, and feelings, to the other person, and the failure to comprehend their responses. The deficit is characterised by pragmatic language skills and social cognition (which involves emotional recognition and regulation and Theory of Mind. It has been observed that individuals with ASD have problems with the ability to comprehend the functionality of communication, such as understanding the intention of the utterances of their communicators and their thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and moods. Another distinct characteristic of ASD is the presence of stereotypes and repetitive behaviours, interests, and activities. Previous research has indicated that individuals with ASD often present limited interests, follow stereotyped behaviours, and adhere to repetitive rituals. (Hus & Segal, 2021) . These stereotypic behaviours constitute a large proportion of the behavioural repertoires of children with autism, and many studies have s

FAQs

What problem does the review focus on regarding children with ASD?

It examines deficits in social communication and social cognition in children with ASD, along with repetitive stereotyped behaviors and interests.

What intervention type is assessed in the study review?

The review assesses interventions based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) principles.

What does the review find about improvements in communication and related skills?

It reports significant effectiveness for pragmatic language communication, with little improvement in socio-emotional perception skills, and notes that effects on Theory of Mind have not been tested or observed.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk