SynthesisPloS one2022
Intensive behavioural interventions based on applied behaviour analysis (ABA) for young children with autism: A cost-effectiveness analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Interpersonal neural synchrony and mental disorders: unlocking potential pathways for clinical interventions.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- A group intervention for parents and carers to recognise and understand restricted and repetitive behaviour in autistic children: a multisite RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Trial
- Adaptive Behavior Change in Autism: Outcomes from a Comprehensive, Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Cohort.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- A Meta-analysis of Randomized Placebo-controlled Trials on the Effects of Probiotics for Autism Spectrum Disorders.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Review
- The therapeutic effects of probiotics on core and associated behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2024Review
- Theoretical-Methodological Foundations for the Global Integration Method (Método de Integração Global-MIG) in the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Responding to Autism in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC): What to Do and What Not to Do.Brain sciences · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe economic and social costs of autism are significant. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of early intensive Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)-based interventions for autistic pre-school children in the UK.
methodsA de novo economic analysis was developed in Microsoft Excel comparing early intensive ABA-based interventions compared with treatment as usual (TAU). The analysis used 15.5-year time horizon, with costs and benefits discounted a 3.5%. The model structure was based on cohort structure to capture changes in adaptive behaviour and cognitive ability over time. The analysis was informed by an individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of available evidence.
resultsAdopting a public sector perspective, early intensive ABA-based therapies were associated with greater incremental costs and greater benefits. When pessimistic assumptions were made regarding the long-term effects of treatment incremental costs were £46,103 and incremental quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were 0.24, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £189,122 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). When optimistic assumptions were made about long-term effects, incremental costs were £39,233 with incremental benefits of 0.84 QALYs. The resulting ICER was £46,768 per QALY. Scenario analyses emphasised the importance of assumptions made regarding adult outcomes and type of school attended, both of which significantly affect the results of the analysis.
conclusionsThe results of this economic analysis suggest that early intensive ABA-based interventions are unlikely to represent value for money, based on a £20,000 to £30,000 per QALY threshold typically adopted to inform UK healthcare funding decisions. However, important gaps in the available evidence, limit the strength of the conclusions that can be drawn from the presented analysis. Further research, focusing on the trajectory of autistic children following intervention is likely to be highly beneficial to resolving some of these uncertainties.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.