Figure 11. Publication Output and Trends in Subcategories of Autism Treatments and Interventions Research.

Pie graph and line graph.  Both the pie graph and line graph plot seven subcategories of autism treatments and interventions research: behavioral, medical slash pharmacologic, technology-based interventions and supports, educational, model systems slash therapeutic targets, occupational, physical, and sensory-based therapies, and complementary, dietary, and alternative.  The pie graph shows the number of autism treatments and interventions-related articles published in the year 2010 as a total and proportion of each of the 7 subcategories.  The largest segment of the pie graph is behavioral publications, which accounted for 26% of all autism treatments and interventions publications in 2010, totaling 106 publications.  Two subcategories were tied for the second largest segment – both medical slash pharmacologic and technology-based interventions and supports had 74 articles, accounting for 18% of all treatment and intervention publications. The fourth largest subcategory was educational with 12% and 51 publications.  Fifth was model systems slash therapeutic targets with 40 articles and 10% of total.  Occupational, physical, and sensory-based therapies was the sixth largest segment, with 32 publications and 8% of total.  Seventh and the smallest subcategory were publication related to complementary dietary and alternative with 31 articles and 8% of all ASD articles in the treatments and interventions critical question area in the year 2010. 

The line graph plots the total number of publications for the 7 subcategories across the years 1980 to 2010.  The y-axis is labeled number of publications related to ASD treatments and interventions, and the x-axis displays the year.  In 1980, the largest subcategory was behavioral with 14 publications and all other subcategories had between one and four publications each. Between 1980 and 2010, the behavioral subcategory generally had the most publications, culminating in 2010 with 106 publications.  Between the years 2000 and 2010, the steepest increases in annual publication output were observed in technology-based interventions and supports, which had 9 publications in 2000 and 74 publications in 2010, as well as medical slash pharmacologic, which had 17 publications in 2000 and 74 publications in 2010.