Commentary: What conflicts of interest tell us about autism intervention research—a commentary on Bottema‐Beutel et al. (2020)

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Dawson, M. & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2020). Commentary: What conflicts of interest tell us about autism intervention research—a commentary on Bottema‐Beutel et al. (2020). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(1), 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13315

Publication date: 26 Aug 2020 Added to AutiHub: 3 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Michelle Dawson *
  2. Sue Fletcher-Watson

Abstract

Bottema-Beutel, Crowley, Sandbank, and Woynaroski (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2020) have performed a Herculean and invaluable task in their investigation of conflicts of interest (COIs) in nonpharmacological early autism intervention research. Drawing on a meta-analysis of 150 articles reporting group designs, they found COIs in 105 (70%), only 6 (5.7%) of which had fully accurate COI statements. Most reports had no COI statements, but among the 48 (32%) which did, the majority of those declaring no COIs had detectable COIs (23 of 30; 77%). Thus, COI reporting in the literature examined is routinely missing, misleading, and/or incomplete; accurate reporting is the exception rather than the rule. That 120 of the 150 reports were published in 2010 or later, compared to 6 pre-2000, tells us this is not about practices confined to decades past. Instead, it reflects and is a telling indictment of established standards in autism intervention research.

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These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 01:00.

Cited references
12
With a DOI
11
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
1
0 / 12 (0.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
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0 / 12 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
12 / 12 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
1
References with raw author names still to review
0
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0
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Author names detected in the cited bibliography
45
From DOI or external metadata
45
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
12 / 45 (26.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 33 / 45 (73.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
0 / 45 (0.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 0 / 12 (0.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 0 / 43 (0.0%).
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  10. Rebecca M. Jones , Caroline Carberry , Amarelle Hamo , Catherine Lord (2017). Placebo‐like response in absence of treatment in children with Autism . Autism Research, 10(9), 1567-1572. Wiley.
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