Active clinical trials for "Autism Spectrum Disorder"

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect approximately 1.1% of late adolescents and young adults, making it one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. Comorbid anxiety disorders affect many higher-functioning adolescents and young adults with ASD, causing substantial distress and impairment over and above that caused by an ASD diagnosis alone. While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a first-line treatment for anxiety disorders among typically developing late adolescents, and work by the investigative team supports its utility in children with ASD and comorbid anxiety, very few evidence-based treatment approaches exist for late adolescents with ASD and comorbid anxiety. Accordingly, the investigators are proposing to develop a CBT protocol for clinical anxiety that is personalized to the unique clinical characteristics of late adolescents (ages 16-21 years) with ASD namely, the Treatment of Anxiety in Late Adolescents with Autism (TALAA).

Health and well being of children are inextricably linked to the physical, emotional and psychological of their parents. Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the neurological developmental disorders characterized by moderate to severe impairments in social interactions, language, and cognitive development, as well as included repetitive behaviors, restricted interests, and emotional distress. Coping with a stressful situation is classified as one of the most challenges in one's life. The overall aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the educational program on parenting stress and coping mechanism among parents of children with ASD in Amman, Jordan at baseline, post-test and at two months follow-up assessment. Two hundred parents of children with Autism spectrum disorder will be assigned to the intervention group (n = 100) and the control group (n = 100). Measures of parent stress and coping mechanism using the parent stress index(PSI) and Brief COPE will administer at pre-, post-treatment, and 2-months follow-up.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) usually present coexisting problems in emotion and behavior regulation, similarly as premature children with communication or socialization difficulties. Caring for children with neurodevelopmental difficulties is an important stressor for parents. Therefore, it is essential that families are offered evidence-based interventions at an early stage within the public health service. Group therapy is a cost-effective intervention that can help parents of children diagnosed with autism and those born prematurely. The Incredible Years - ASLD program is an example of this sort of therapy, consisting of a group intervention for parents of preschool children with a diagnosis of ASD or Language Delay. In Spain, group interventions for children with ASD and preterm children presenting with Language Delay are scarce in the public health service. The Incredible Years - ASLD program has not been translated into Spanish and it has not been previously implemented in our country. The Incredible Years - ASLD group intervention will be carried out in three public Healthcare centers. It is intended to recruit 72 patients diagnosed with ASD or premature children with communication or socialization difficulties, which will be randomized to an Intervention Group or to Treatment as Usual (TAU) Group. The Intervention Group will receive fourteen sessions of the Incredible Years - ASLD program in addition to Treatment as Usual (TAU). In terms of clinical implications, this randomized pilot study could demonstrate the feasibility of implementing this intervention in the regular clinical settings within the Spanish public health service and could be a first step for future controlled studies that demonstrate its effectiveness.

This study was designed as a randomized controlled clinical trial of pediatric massage for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 72 ASD children will be recruited and randomly divided into two groups: the treatment group (pediatric massage + usual care, n=36) and the control group (usual care/waitlist group, n=36).30 healty controls will be recruited. Children in the treatment group will received 12 weeks pediatric massage by doctors and their own parents. The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition (SRS-2), Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) will be used to assess the clinical behavioral changes of all participants, and to analyze the clinical effectiveness and safety of pediatric massage for children with ASD. Electroencephalography (EEG) and brain functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will be recorded before and after treatment, to observe the potential brain target of pediatric massage for children with ASD.

The goal of the study is to providing parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and disruptive behaviors essential skills to manage their children's behaviors using an evidence based parent training protocol. Beyond the feasibility of delivering an evidence based intervention in groups and with community partners, primary and secondary outcomes in both the children and the parents who participated in the study are assessed during and after the intervention process

This study will develop and test a Robotic Intervention Framework for Children with ASD in the real context. The first part of this study will focus on the identification and initial testing of core elements of effective robotic intervention programs to form a practice framework. Pat II will use a randomized control trial to test the efficacy of the robotic intervention programs that incorporated all elements of the framework. Part III will use a qualitative approach to examine the qualitative outcomes of the program with reference to the elements of the practice framework. With a framework that is built upon evidence and tested sufficiently, practice guidelines and intervention protocol will be delineated to ensure success of robotic intervention programs.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) mainly has social and interaction related problems, and repetitive behaviors or interests. In recent years, studies showed that Routine-Based Early Intervention(RBEI) could increase children's development and enhance skills maintenance. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) to assess children can identify different factors under systematic analysis, then improving children's physical functions and self-care abilities. Therefore, this study will design RBEI programs for autistic children, and use ICF-CY to assess the efficacy of RBEIin body function, body structure, and participation for children with autism.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of group psychoeducation for the psychological distress of mothers with the children of high-functioning pervasive developmental disorder and for their behavior based on disorder traits.

This study aims to develop a parent-assisted social skills training program for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) and verify therapeutic effects of the program through case-control study. Both the case and the control of this study shall be a high-functioning group consisting of adolescents aged 11 to 18 years with ASD and an IQ of 80 or over. A total of 40 adolescents will be recruited and divided into two groups of twenty. One will be the case group and the other will be the waitlist control group. Again, the case will be divided into two sub-groups of ten and carry out this new developed program for both parents and adolescents. That is, the program will be carried out two times in each of both groups. The waitlist control group will be allowed to receive personal outpatient treatment and general therapeutic intervention from community while waiting. Effects of the program will be measured both at the case and the control by using a scale which measures social interaction, quality of peer relationship, disposition of autism and social anxiety. Equal assessments for both the case and the control will be conducted right before the beginning of the program and right after the completion of the program and some of the survey will be retried in order to see mid- and long-term effects three months after the completion of the program.

If autism is the consequence of a chronic inflammatory process preventing the infant brain from forming the proper neural connections, then treatment that reduces inflammation might have a positive impact on autism. IGIV treatment has been known to suppress inflammation and has been used in the treatment of inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases.