Active clinical trials for "Autism Spectrum Disorder"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the application of an evidence-based, manualized treatment for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Pivotal Response Treatment, PRT) to children ages four through six years of age with ASD. Specifically, children will be randomly assigned to receive either (1) 10 hours per week of intervention services, including two hours per week of parent education, and eight hours per week of direct clinician-delivered services, or (2) a treatment as usual control. Intervention will focus on enhancing the following developmental skills: expressive and receptive language, play, and social interaction. Outcome measures will address changes in the aforementioned domains during structured observation and standardized assessment.

The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of an internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) intervention originally developed for neurotypical adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in adolescents with OCD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This feasibility study will inform us how to adapt the original intervention to the specific needs of patients with ASD.

The purpose of this randomized withdrawal study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of memantine compared with placebo in pediatric patients with autism, Asperger's Disorder, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

Due to the considerable prevalence of anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorders, this study seeks to establish the efficacy of a modified cognitive behavioral therapy protocol in 50 adolescents versus other available treatment options.

The purpose of this research is to study the effects of a novel artificial intelligence (AI) tool for automatic facial expression recognition that runs on Google Glass through an Android app to deliver social emotion cues to children with autism during social interactions. This novel device will use a camera, microphone, head motion tracker to analyze the behavior of the subject during interactions with other people. The system is designed to give participants non-interruptive social cues in real-time and will record social responses that can later be used to help aid behavioral therapy. It is hypothesized that the system's ability to provide continuous behavioral therapy during social interactions will enable faster gains in social skills.

The Social ABCs is an evidence-based, developmentally informed, caregiver-mediated behavioural intervention for toddlers with suspected or confirmed Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is based on principles of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT, grounded in Applied Behavioural Analysis), and responsive parenting. The two key targets of this program are functional verbal communication and positive caregiver-child affect sharing. This intervention takes place in the context of play and daily routines, and in all contexts is made to be fun. In both a pilot study and a recently completed randomized control trial, toddlers whose caregivers received training in the Social ABCs intervention showed significant gains in early language development (both responsivity and initiations), increased child smiling (mediated by parent smiling), and a trend toward increased social orienting (one important manifestation of social attention). In an effort to make the Social ABCs more feasible for community service providers to provide this intervention to higher number families, an abbreviated version of the Social ABCs intervention is being offered in a mixed group/individual format in a clinic setting. The primary goal of this pilot project is to assess feasibility of this abbreviated program in the novel format and setting. The secondary goal is to train clinical service providers to facilitate this intervention, thus introducing the program into community practice.

The purpose of this study is to find out how the brain of people with autism is affected by Propranolol. Propranolol is not FDA approved for the treatment of autism. Propranolol is FDA approved for the treatment of heart conditions such as blood pressure This research is being done because there are currently no drug treatment options for language impairments and social difficulties often experienced by people with autism.

This is a single site, prospective, randomized, double-blind study of a single intravenous autologous or allogeneic, unrelated cord blood (CB) infusion in children ages 2-7 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants will be randomly assigned to Sequence A, consisting of a single infusion of CB cells at baseline followed 6 months later by a single infusion of placebo, or Sequence B, consisting of an infusion of placebo at baseline followed 6 months later by an infusion of CB cells. All participants will ultimately be treated with CB cells at some point during the study. Participants with an available qualified autologous CB unit will receive autologous cells, and those without a suitable autologous CB unit available will receive cells from a ≥4/6 HLA-matched, ABO-matched allogeneic, unrelated donor CB unit from the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank. All infusions will be double-blinded. The primary outcomes will be assessed 6 months after the initial infusion in the sequence. Additional testing for secondary exploratory analyses will be performed at 12 months. Duration of study participation will be 12 months from the time of baseline infusion.

The current trial aims to explore the neural and behavioral effects of oxytocin in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Oxytocin is a nonapeptide produced by the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus and is known to play a pivotal role in a variety of complex social behaviors. Initial studies showed that intranasal administration of oxytocin can have a positive effect on social functioning in ASD. However, future studies are necessary to explore whether and how oxytocin effects neural processes in the brain underlying these behavioral improvements. This trial will not only measure behavioral enhancements, but will specifically focus on elucidating the associated neurophysiological changes by guiding the administration of oxytocin with regular neurophysiological assessments.

Caregiver coaching will be provided using telehealth technology, in order to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of the telehealth medium of intervention delivery for caregivers of infants with concern for ASD.