Active clinical trials for "Autism Spectrum Disorder"

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.

Our treatment, SENSE Theatre, combines several well-documented, effective behavioral strategies and theatre techniques. The proposed project will extend previous findings showing improving improvement in memory for faces. The multisite randomized control trial will include a large sample of 240 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) randomly assigned to the experimental (SENSE Theatre) or an active control condition (Tackling Teenage Together).

There has been a lack of research on the unique needs of families with autism in the African-American and Latino communities. The process of screening, evaluation and treatment for children with autism can be long and arduous, especially in these communities. This often means that the best interventions for children with autism are not reaching minority communities. For many families, the complexity of the services system leads to a long wait after the initial diagnosis before accessing intervention. This means that the children have delayed access to treatment. Mind the Gap is a study that seeks to provide immediate and culturally appropriate support for families who have just received diagnosis but have yet to receive treatment. This support will be provided in families' native languages and, through the use of phone and video sessions, can accommodate busy schedules. Mind the Gap participants will be randomized to receive one of two conditions, which are 1.Resources only (online training modules and paper or on line resource lists, but no peer coaching) 2. Peer coaching (will receive all online training access). The peer coaches will be recruited from local parent support agencies. They will not be professionals in the field of ASD, but they will be trained by the research group on how to access the online tools and how to work whith families. They will contact the participants via phone or video conference on a weekly basis and an in- person visit per month for 3 months. Peer coaches will have a monthly call with participants for an additional nine months.We hope that this study will help the African American and Latino communities receive services sooner than currently reported. We also hope that in the future, parent organizations will use these tools to help families that have recently received an ASD diagnosis will us navigate the complex system of attaining services.

The current study seeks to develop the first daily living skills (DLS) intervention package for high functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and evaluate its effectiveness. The investigators hope to further refine the Surviving and Thriving in the Real World (STRW) intervention by conducting an ORBIT (Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trial) Phase 2b feasibility Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT). This randomized clinical trial will test the preliminary effectiveness of STRW in 56 adolescents (14-21 years) with high functioning ASD as compared to a robust evidence-based social skills intervention (Program for the Evaluation and Enrichment of Relational Skills - PEERS). The current proposal represents a critical step toward improving the adult outcome of individuals with autism.

The purpose of this study is to find out about the potential benefits and safety of brexpiprazole in children and adolescent participants, aged 5 to 17, with irritability associated with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism is one of those disorders in Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which characterized by social interaction abnormalities, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication, and repetitive, obsessive behavior, while the therapeutic effect of current treatments remains limited progress. The possible reason for ASD is neural hypoperfusion and immune deregulation. The Human Umbilical Cord Blood Mononuclear Cells (hUCB-MNCs) have been shown to have the ability to modulate the immune response and enhance angiogenesis, suggesting the novel and promising therapeutic strategy. In this study, the safety and efficacy of hUCB-MNCs infusion will be evaluated in patients with Autism.

Background: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation that has aroused increased interests in the past decade. Not only that it is transient with little side-effects, and can be well-tolerated by children, it is also affordable and readily accessible, making it an appealing treatment option for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Objective: (1) To assess the therapeutic effects of tDCS when combined with cognitive training for 10 consecutive weekdays on improving cognitive processing in adolescents with ASD, relative to control group receiving sham-stimulation, and (2) to evaluate the associated neural mechanisms underlying the treatment effect of tDCS on adolescents with ASD. Methods: 105 adolescents with ASD will be randomly assigned to active- (n=35), sham- (n=35) tDCS, or no-treatment control (n=35) groups. Twenty minute sessions of 1 mA cathodal stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPRC) in conjunction with cognitive training exercise will be provided on 10 consecutive weekdays. EEGs, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and neuropsychological tests will be administered before, 1 day and 6 months after the series of tDCS sessions. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that cathodal (inhibitory) tDCS over the left DLPRC will induce (1) stimulation-linked facilitation of learning and enhanced processing speed and resultant improvement of cognitive functioning, in executive function, relative to the sham-tDCS and the wait-list controls, (2) active-tDCS, but not sham-tDCS and wait-list controls, will modulate the intra- and inter-hemispheric neural connectivity, indexed by altered level EEG theta coherence and aberrant fNIRS haemodynamic measures, across brain areas implicated in executive functioning.

Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report higher levels of depression and distress than caregivers of typically developing children as well as children with other developmental disabilities. The proposed work tests a novel treatment paradigm that blends Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with an empirically supported and manualized parent training program (Parent-Implemented Early Start Denver Model [P-ESDM]). We hypothesize that directly treating parental distress, while simultaneously providing evidence-based parent training, may greatly enhance child-focused intervention and provide benefits that resonate across the family.

The current study is a single group pilot study of a novel intervention program which targets improvements in executive functions and adaptive skills in transition age young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The main aim of the study is to test the effectiveness of the intervention using a pretest-posttest comparison. It is hypothesised that there will be an increase in executive functions and adaptive skills after the intervention.