Active clinical trials for "Autistic Disorder"

Despite the psychosocial difficulties common among young adults with autism spectrum disorders(ASD), little to no evidence-based social skills interventions exist for this population. Using a randomized controlled trial(RCT) design, the current study tested the effectiveness of an evidence-based, caregiver-assisted social skills intervention known as PEERS for Young Adults with high-functioning young adults with ASD using self- and caregiver-report measures.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit characteristic deficits in social initiation and there are no empirically validated treatments specifically for this core deficit. While parent training is known to be a critical intervention component, few social skills programs involve parents. This study will capitalize on an existing social skills group already established at the community agency Abilities United, with the goal of enhancing the program's effectiveness by adding a parent component. Specifically, the proposed study will investigate whether a novel parent mediated social skills program (Social SUCCESS), which provides parent training in conjunction with a social skills group intervention, will result in more frequent initiations during play with typically developing peers. Participants will include 50 children with ASD age 4:0 to 6:11 years. Children will be randomly assigned to either Social SUCCESS (N=25) or waiting list (N=25). Treatment will be provided for 8 weeks during a weekly 120-minute social skills group at Abilities United. The study will evaluate the effects of Social SUCCESS on areas of core social deficit including frequency of peer initiations using parent ratings, observational measures, standardized questionnaires, and a social eye tracking task. Outcomes will be compared to a waiting list control group. Findings will be disseminated through presentations and publications to aid clinicians in providing more effective social skills treatment for children with ASD and to enhance the scientific knowledge-base related to evidence-based social skills treatments. This research designed with the goal of stimulating additional scientific inquiry in the area of treatment for core social deficits in ASD and will provide a strong foundation for larger scale grants to study motivation-based interventions to improve social functioning.

Play skills and participation of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been restricted by their core symptoms, resulting in heightened parenting stress and affected family daily life. This research aims to improve play skills and participation of children with ASD through 'family-centered occupational therapy', thereby leading to positive outcome for not only the child but also the whole family.

Individuals with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience obsessions and/or compulsions that are similar to those specified in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). However, little research exists on effective interventions for OCD symptoms (referred to as OCBs) in ASD. In a randomized controlled trial, a manualized functional behavior-based cognitive-behavior therapy (Fb-CBT) consisting of traditional CBT components (psychoeducation and mapping, cognitive-behavioral skills training, exposure, and response prevention) as well as function-based behavioral assessment will be evaluated. Participants will be assigned randomly to Fb-CBT or treatment as usual (TAU). Primary and secondary outcome measures will be used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment, and will be administered at pre and post-intervention as well as six month follow-up.

Overview The goal of Comprehensive Communication Intervention for Minimally Verbal Children with Autism is to conduct an efficacy study of a promising intervention to increase spoken language in preschool children who are minimally verbal. The proposed study compares a comprehensive communication intervention (JASP- EMT Plus; JEP) to a business as usual (BAU) control group in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) across 4 time points. The study replicates and extends procedures used by Kasari, Kaiser et al (2014) to successfully promote social communication in older minimally verbal children. Intervention components include: (1) Joint Attention, Structured Play, Engagement and Regulation and Enhanced Milieu Teaching (JASP- EMT), (2) applied with systematic parent training, (3) use of speech generating device (SGD) and (4) supplementary direct teaching of foundational skills for language learning as indicated by child entry skills (CORE-DTT; Smith, 2009). Children who remain minimally verbal beyond age 5 are at high risk for persistent, severe communication deficits that impact social development, educational achievement and quality of life (Tager-Flusberg & Kasari, 2013). Thus, there is an urgent need for effective strategies to promote communication development during the preschool years to ameliorate early communication deficits and prevent persistent minimally verbal status. This study aims to change social communication in minimally verbal preschool children with ASD by applying a naturalistic social communication intervention which teaches the social foundations of communication and functional use of verbal language in play and interaction. In addition, the intervention addresses three factors that may contribute to remaining minimally verbal: lack of an effective mode of speech production, lack of foundational skills for learning language (receptive language, imitation, joint attention), and lack of communication partners to support continued language learning in natural environments.

The aim of the research project is to conduct evidence-based research on a nationally known vocational rehabilitation (VR) service model (Project Search) for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This information may be useful to high schools and vocational rehabilitation agencies that endeavor to use evidence based practices to serve individuals with ASD.

The purpose of this pilot study is to compare an innovative toilet training strategy with a standard behavioral intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as implemented by teachers in the school setting. Thirty classrooms with a total of 60 children with ASD (aged 3 - 10 years) will be enrolled in the study. Each classroom will be randomly assigned to either the innovative strategy group or the standard behavioral group. The innovative strategy employs an electronic moisture pager that sends a signal when the child begins having a urine accident. Outcome measures include rate of urine accidents and rate of toilet use in the two groups.

Through funding from the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University (WOU) will be conducting research on the effect of a parent-delivered massage program on measures of autism and general development in children ages 6 to 11 with autism. Families will participate in an initial training, and receive 24 sessions of ongoing support and training from a trained therapist over the first nine months.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy of integrating targeted dosing of intranasal oxytocin with a social cognitive skills group therapy for school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

This study was a 4-year efficacy trial (cluster randomized trial) of a comprehensive school-based intervention (CSBI) for high-functioning elementary students with autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). The sample included children, in grades 1-5 with HFASD enrolled in public schools. School buildings were randomly assigned to either receive the CSBI or serve as the control comparison (business-as-usual [BAU]). School staff in the CSBI schools administered social skills groups (60-90 minutes per week), facial-emotion recognition computer instruction (60 minutes per week), therapeutic activities (40-60 minutes per week), a behavioral reinforcement system (across the school day), and parent training (60-90 minutes per month) during the school year. Children with HFASD in the BAU schools received their typical educational program. Implementation fidelity was assessed by research assistants throughout the school year in the CSBI schools using standardized fidelity monitoring sheets. The fidelity monitoring sheets were also completed by research assistants during observations in the BAU schools in order to identify the possible presence of any of the treatment elements in the control (BAU) schools. Outcome measures were completed for both groups at baseline (6 weeks into the school year prior to the initiation of the intervention) and at the end of the school year following completion of the intervention. Primary outcome measures included a test of emotion recognition and parent-teacher ratings of ASD symptoms and secondary measures included parent-teacher ratings of social/social-communication skills, a test of academic achievement skills, and a direct behavioral measure of social interaction skills (child testing and behavioral observations were completed by evaluators blinded to treatment condition; parent-teacher raters were not blinded to treatment condition). For the primary measures/analyses, it was hypothesized that students with HFASD who complete the CSBI will demonstrate significantly greater emotion-recognition skills and receive significantly lower parent-teacher ratings of ASD symptoms compared to controls. For the secondary measures/analyses, it was hypothesized that students with HFASD who complete the CSBI will receive significantly higher parent-teacher ratings of social/social-communication skills, demonstrate significantly higher academic skills, and exhibit significantly higher rates of social interactions with peers compared to controls.