Active clinical trials for "Autistic Disorder"

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of zolpidem on sleep in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Zolpidem is a nonbenzodiazepine GABAa receptor agonist drug that acts as a hypnotic. To accomplish this, the investigators will use a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover 8-week study design to examine the effect of zolpidem on sleep physiology as assessed by polysomnography (PSG), actigraphy, circadian rhythm, and clinical measures.

This study evaluates the effect of using the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale (APERS) as the foundation for providing feedback, in-service training and coaching to teachers, to improve program quality for autistic (ASD) students and students with related social-communication challenges (SCC) in Swedish primary school classrooms. In the current study half of the participating classrooms will receive the APERS-based model for program quality improvement, while the other half will receive services as usual. It is hypothesized that the APERS-based model will improve primary school program quality for children with ASD and SCC, as well as improve functioning for students with ASD/SCC and self-perceived self-efficacy among participating teachers, compared to the study's comparison group.

Autism diagnostic referrals across the UK have doubled within the last five years. Covid-19 has further delayed diagnostic pathways, while innovation has not kept pace in assisting clinical teams with low cost, fast, and unobtrusive pathways to shorten waiting times for families of children with possible Autism. Sensor-based technology offers a potentially cheap, small-scale, and unobtrusive way of collecting data while children interact seamlessly with smart play objects and toys that allows a clear comparison with neuro-typical groups or children.The present exploratory group intervention (intervention, interview, focus group, and questionnaire) will map out and investigate clinical interaction through the use of "Tangiball"-a new low-cost smart toy that is highly reliable and sensitive-that has the potential to significantly reduce the timing of the diagnostic process in young children with possible Autism. The "Tangiball" records user speed and accuracy of movement, which aligns with variability between neuro-typical children and children with Autism, but is it an acceptable clinical tool for diagnostics and play?

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a post-diagnostic psychoeducational intervention in increasing the sense of self-efficacy of adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder-Without associated Intellectual Disability

Research on the involvement of the cerebellum in social understanding behavior and the mentalizing brain system has just begun. Knowledge about the neurobiology of social understanding is important for understanding the ways to manipulate these processes. Like cerebral tDCS, cerebellar tDCS could then be used to enhance more complex processes, such as mentalizing, in healthy individuals. It can eventually also be examined as a therapeutic tool for patients with mentalizing difficulties such as patients with ASD. In this study, it is examined whether anodal tDCS at the right posterior cerebellum influences social understanding and which cerebro-cerebellar networks play a role in this process.

The primary objective of this study is to undertake a longitudinal investigation of the impact of sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances on cognitive and behavioural trajectories in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) age 3-10 years old. This innovative study will use objective quantifiable measures of sleep and circadian rhythms in addition to subjective measures. The investigators aim to assess the hypotheses that, in pre-pubertal children with ASD, sleep disturbances are correlated with circadian rhythm disturbances; both sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances are negatively correlated with cognitive performance and positively correlated with behavioural disturbances; sleep and circadian rhythm disturbances, most notably abnormal melatonin secretion, impact the cognitive and behavioural development of children with ASD, depending on age (prospective longitudinal analyses).

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the journey of families after their child's diagnosis of autism and to help parents understand autism and get the right treatments for their child. This study is for parents of children just diagnosed with autism who are: Age greater than 1 and up to 5 years old; Hispanic/Latino OR Black/African-American OR have Medi-Cal as primary health insurance; AND Live in one of the following counties in California (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, or Sonoma). The main questions it aims to answer are: Whether parent coaching through Project AFECT leads to decreased parental stress and increased parental confidence; Whether family navigation through Project AFECT leads to increased number of referrals to early intervention and educational services and reduced wait times to autism treatments; Whether children whose parents receive Project AFECT intervention show increased language skills compared to children whose parents did not receive intervention. Participants will be asked to: Complete surveys at enrollment and 3 and 6 months later. Work with Project AFECT Coach. Researchers will compare control and intervention groups to see if Project AFECT leads to improved parent and child outcomes.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common and complex neurodevelopmental disorder, which is characterized by impairments of social communication, social reciprocity, as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB). The unclear pathogenesis of ASD, its increasing prevalence, and its poor clinical diagnosis and treatment effect have caused a serious economic and mental burden on patients and their families. As a new non-invasive neuroelectrophysiological technique, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used more and more in the interventional treatment of autism. The current project aims to explore the influence of TMS on brain plasticity in autism by using TMS for interventional treatment of autism and provide guidelines for the intervention and treatment of autism by evaluating the efficiency of these methods.

The purpose of this research study is to investigate whether tDCS to the cerebellum (specifically, the right crus I/II area of the cerebellum) of children and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is safe and to examine its effects on some of the symptoms of ASD, such as repetitive behaviors and hyperactivity.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of suvorexant on sleep in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Suvorexant is a selective, dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) used for the treatment of sleep onset difficulties and/or sleep maintenance. To accomplish this, the investigators will use a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover 8-week study design to examine the effect of suvorexant on sleep physiology as assessed by polysomnography (PSG), actigraphy, circadian rhythm, and clinical measures.