4.2 Evidence base for TEACCH

TEACCH has a clear and appropriate rationale, in that it addresses the characteristic need for structure and routine in autism. Research Autism reports a ‘small amount of high quality research evidence for TEACCH’, pointing to an impact on social communication, cognitive and motor skills. However, to date there have been no RCTs or large-scale evaluations. The fact that it is specifically tailored to the challenges experienced by an individual child or adult means that it is not easy to identify outcome measures appropriate for all participants in a study, nor to set up control groups. It is likely that outcomes will be affected by the skill and expertise of the professionals involved. There is also evidence that when or if TEACCH is withdrawn, an autistic person may regress in their behaviour and anxiety levels, or be unable to generalise what they have learned to new contexts.