Active clinical trials for "Autism Spectrum Disorder"

The purpose of this Phase II study is to determine the efficacy of human umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hCT-MSC) for improving social communication abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

SENSE Theatre®, combines several well-documented, effective behavioral strategies, such as the inclusion of trained peer models, theatre play techniques involving predictable (i.e., scripted) and flexible (improvised) role-play, and repeated performance of newly learned skills resulting in greater automaticity of behavior. The intervention has the potential to enhance social cognition and behavior in adults with autism spectrum disorder.

This study will examine a telehealth parenting intervention to reduce anxiety in 20 families of children between 4 and 8 years old with autism and anxiety. Caregivers and children complete 12 telehealth treatment sessions. Caregivers and children will complete pre tests, post tests, and 3 month followup assessments that include observations, heart rate monitoring, and caregiver ratings.

This is a randomized controlled trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) versus Psychoeducation and Supportive Therapy (PST) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and moderate to severe anxiety. The study will utilize fMRI to identify CBT-invoked changes in levels of activity/functional connectivity within the neural circuits involved in emotion regulation and social perception. Matched typically developing children without autism and/or anxiety will be scanned twice, 16 weeks apart, to enable interpretation of treatment-evoked change relative to normative development.

This study is a double blind treatment trial that will test if sulforaphane improves core symptoms in autism. The investigators expect to see clinical improvement in some of these areas. Sulforaphanes come from eating certain vegetables such as broccoli. The investigators will be using a preparation that gives specific and reproducible amounts. The investigators will also test specific chemicals and genes needed for sulforaphane usage to try to understand differences in response.

Despite the significant morbidity and mortality associated with catatonia in autism, no diagnostic research has attempted to identify biomarkers for catatonia. This application will use a participant's own individual brain magnetic resonance image to target the primary motor strip with transcranial magnetic stimulation; to determine if hyper-excitability of the brain directly correlates with symptoms of catatonia and social-emotional impairment in autism. Completion of this project would result in the first study to associate hyper-excitability of the brain with catatonia and core features of autism; findings which are likely to have a significant impact on the health and well-being of autistic individuals.

In the international literature, it is currently accepted that, relative to neurotypicals, people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present patterns of moral judgments marked by a minimization of intentionality and a strong condemnation of agents responsible for accidents. However, until now, all studies are based on declarative paradigms, and no one has proposed to examine the relationship of people with ASD to moral transgressions (i.e. to a bad action done deliberately or to a good deed deliberately omitted) in an implicit paradigm, that is, when the answer is made on the assignment of an expressive face to these moral offenses. Furthermore, no study has investigated whether diminished sensitivity to intention and intransigence of incidental judgment occur in both automatic (implicit) and deliberative (explicit) settings. Investigators planned to study how people with ASD without intellectual disability process emotions expressed by others in response to different forms of moral offense and to examine whether patterns potentially contrast in degree and/or kind with those of neurotypicals.

This study examines how the PEERS (Laugeson & Frankel, 2010; Laugeson, 2016) social-behavioral intervention affects social relationships and brain development and function in autistic preschoolers, adolescents, and young adults.

The Neuro-Strength-Based Approach to Autism (NSBAA) attempts to translate what research has discovered about the autistic brain into terms that autistics, and those involved with autistics, can understand. It is not intended to be a new approach to intervention but hopefully a unifying approach to understanding autism that all therapists, educators, clinicians, and parents can use when working with autistic individuals. It was developed by an autistic occupational therapist, based on her lifetime obsession of learning everything she could about how typical brains work, and, following her diagnosis, how the autistic brain works. Being on the autism spectrum herself and having worked with, and interacted with, autistic individuals of all ages and abilities in school, clinical, and personal settings, the author attempts to explain the autistic brain from both the scientific as well as autistic perspectives.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the feasibility and acceptability of a behavioral intervention in designed to provide sexual education and improve the behavioral skills of autistic adults for intimate relationships. The main questions it aims to answer are: Acquire feasibility and acceptability data for delivery of the CRUSH curriculum in a group didactic setting plus 1-1 coaching. Acquire feasibility and acceptability data regarding the assessment battery for future clinical trials. Participants will complete: A screening call. Provide documentation of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. 3 visits to assess knowledge and behaviors related to dating and sexual health at each point throughout the training curriculum (before beginning, midway, and after finishing). 15-20 training sessions to participate in the CRUSH curriculum. After each session, provide feedback about the session.