A Sample Case of Treatment of a Preadolescent with Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Milan in 2013

Abstract

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of a model of therapeutic intervention, called Integrated Psychosomatic Model, based on a sensorimotor training to improve cognitive performance and perceptual abilities in a single case of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Methods: In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment specifically addressed to the body, which lasted weekly for 4 months plus a one-year follow-up, the therapists carried out psychometric evaluations in six different time points (T0, T1, T2, T3, T4, T5).To evaluate the level of development of the subject in relation to cognition, motility, and maladjusted behavior we used PEP3, and to evaluate the body changes for what concerns the perceptive abilities the TPV. Results:The results of the treatment based on a bodily mediation showed a striking improvement in all the composite scores of PP3; on the contrary, for what concerns the body changes, the TPV showed a significant increase of the visual-motor integration index which increases from "very poor" to "in the average". The follow-up data (T4) after four months confirmed the achieved scores, therefore strengthening the affective-cognitive and motor abilities gained by the subject during the treatment. Conclusion:The evaluation of the intervention confirms, for those subjects with a compromised symbolic-visual elaboration and mediation, the effectiveness of using the body as a changing instrument in psychotherapy.