Active clinical trials for "Autistic Disorder"

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on some of the challenges faced by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are disabling and impairing conditions affecting 1% of children in Norway. ASD is hallmarked by severe social deficit and lack of independence causing reliance on supportive systems throughout life. Parents are usually the primary caretakers and support, often throughout life. Normal parenting skills are however often ineffective due to the social dysfunction of the child with ASD. This causes high stress as the demands exceed the resources and capability of the parent. The high stress is associated to increased risk for mental health problems, divorce, unemployment and reduced quality of life. High parent stress may also reduce the effect of interventions in ASD. However, although the need is great and parental follow-up is an integral part of health care for ASD children, there is a lack of evidence for such interventions. The current project aims to evaluate a specific parent program that is in clinical use - the Incredible Years for children with ASD - compared with a standardised treatment as usual (TAU) composed of clinical parent workshops ("first aid for parents"). The aim is to evaluate parenting interventions and promote evidence-based practice in a clinical setting. The investigators will perform a randomized controlled trial and qualitative interviews to compare the effectiveness of treatment as usual (TAU) versus a manualized parent program (IY-ASLD). The study aims to investigate if the parental program may reduce parent stress and improve parental competence and self-efficacy. Secondary goals are to investigate whether the parent program may improve quality of life for the parent and the child and have an impact on long-term child functioning and service use.

Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) is a naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions to reduce autism symptoms. The aim of this trial is to assess the beneficial and harmful effects of PACT in 2-6 year-old children with a recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about occupational therapy integrating horses for autistic youth. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does occupational therapy integrating horses improve self-regulation in autistic youth Does occupational therapy integrating horses affect salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase Participants will receive 10 weeks of occupational therapy, and will be asked to provide saliva samples each week. Researchers will compare occupational therapy integrating horses to occupational therapy in a clinic to see if integrating horses affects self-regulation.

The goal is to expand a parent-mediated intervention for feeding challenges in children with autism with an Australian cohort, building on recent research and current successful models already being used. A parent-mediated intervention would primarily occur in the home environment, working with the parent to establish goals and implement the intervention based on their child's specific needs.

Early intervention (EI) using naturalistic behavioural methods have shown benefits for the development of communication and other skills for young children with autism spectrum disorder. The publicly funded autism EI program in Nova Scotia (NS) is based on such a method, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), and pre-post studies indicate benefits for children and families. However, not all children benefit equally. In this study, the investigators test the efficacy of a brief parent-mediated intervention designed to prime responsivity to PRT in children with a minimal responder profile derived from previous studies of the PRT-based EI program.

6-week, randomized, double-blind, fixed-dose, placebo-controlled, parallel group study in children and adolescents (aged 5 to17 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with irritability, agitation, or self-injurious behaviors to study the efficacy and safety of pimavanserin

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters (PLAY) Project Home Consultation model to improve parent-child interaction, child development, and autism symptomatology in young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in China.

For parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the severity of the child's behavior negatively correlates with parental well-being. Parental education and support buffers stress and negative effects that some parents experience. Parents living in rural areas face several barriers to obtaining support, psychoeducation, and ASD interventions due to a lack of local resources. This pilot study will test the acceptability, feasibility and preliminary effects of Attend Behavior, a Web-based behavioral parent training (PT) program, for parents of children with ASD in rural areas. The program goals are to decrease child problem behaviors and improve parental mental health. Methods: Parents (N = 40) of young children (2-11 years old) diagnosed with ASD will be recruited. A single group pre/post-intervention design using mixed methods will be used to determine the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy. The effects of Attend Behavior on parent mental health will be measured. The effects of Attend Behavior on child problem behaviors will be measured. Individual interviews with the parents will take place post-intervention to ascertain perspectives on Attend Behavior. Acceptability and feasibility will also be measured using the Acceptability of Intervention, Intervention Appropriateness Measure, and the Feasibility of Intervention Measure. Effect sizes will be calculated to examine the efficacy of the intervention.

Around the world there is a growing need to develop early intervention services in local communities that support a better quality of life for all autistic people. The South African study will test an approach where caregivers are coached by non-specialists in early intervention strategies. Caregivers can then use these strategies during everyday activities with their young autistic child.