Autistic children can benefit from attention training - new study

Credit: Thomas Park/Unsplash Attention training in young people with autism can lead to significant improvements in academic performance, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK along with institutions in São Paolo, in Brazil, tested a computer programme designed to train basic attention skills among a group of autistic children aged between eight and 14 years old. They found participants achieved improvements in maths, reading, writing and overall attention both immediately after undergoing the training and at a three-month follow up assessment. Their results are published in Autism Research. Lead researcher, Dr Carmel Mevorach , in the University of Birmingham's Centre for Human Brain Health , and School of Psychology , says: "It's only recently that we have started to focus on the way autistic people pay attention in addition to, for example, how they interact and socialise. Attention is a fundamental cognitive process and better controlling it can have an impact on other behaviours, as well as on learning ability." In the study, the team worked with 26 participants with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the São Paolo ASD Reference Unit, a specialist children's treatment unit. The children took part in 45-minute training sessions twice a week for 8 weeks.