The effects of the DHACA method on expressive communication in children with autism spectrum disorder.
DHACA moved most non-verbal autistic children toward spoken words in just 20 short sessions.
01Research in Context
What this study did
FCOFradet et al. (2025) tested a new speech method called DHACA.
They gave 20 DHACA sessions to 12 autistic children who had few or no words.
The team counted how many kids began to speak or use short sentences.
What they found
Ten of the 12 children gained measurable expressive communication.
Some children spoke their first words; others built short sentences.
The gains appeared after only 20 sessions.
How this fits with other research
Han et al. (2025) pooled 25 ABA studies and found small language gains.
Tiede et al. (2019) saw similar small-to-medium effects from naturalistic play.
DHACA’s case series shows a larger jump in fewer sessions, but it is only 12 kids.
The big-picture story: many methods help, yet effect sizes stay modest until you add intensity or tailor to the child’s starting sounds and gestures.
Why it matters
You can borrow DHACA’s short, focused format for your own non-verbal clients.
First, list the consonants and vowels the child already imitates; then run short, daily speech bursts.
Track new words each week; if no gain after five sessions, tweak cues or reinforcers.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
<h4>Purpose</h4>This study aimed to assess the contributions of the DHACA method to expressive communication development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).<h4>Methods</h4>This longitudinal case series study had a sample of 12 children with ASD, nonverbal or minimally verbal communication, and support level one or two. Data were collected by applying the ACOTEA-R Protocol by analyzing videos recorded during intervention sessions before and after using the DHACA. Participants underwent 20 individual speech-language-hearing sessions with the DHACA.<h4>Results</h4>After the intervention with the ACOTEA-R, 10 of the 12 children improved their overall expressive communication skills. Concerning the communicative profile, initially, 10 children were nonverbal and 2 were minimally verbal. After the intervention, 7 evolved to a verbal pattern, whereas 5 remained nonverbal. The progress of the following communication skills stands out: use of sentences with four or more words, naming objects, social expressions, greeting people, and making comments. Moreover, 8 of the 12 participants advanced to the third skill in the DHACA, characterized by request with lexical and morphosyntactic expansion.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The children's speech and use of the communication book indicated progress in their expressive communication development after intervention with the DHACA.
, 2025 · doi:10.1590/2317-1782/e20240148pt