Active clinical trials for "Autistic Disorder"

Current therapies for autism target social and language behaviors, but due to the high-level nature of these skills any improvement rarely extends beyond the targeted behavior. This project uses new technology to implement a novel concept for behavioral intervention to improve basic attention and eye movement skills in ASD. Because these basic skills form the foundation for good social communication, training these abilities has the potential to improve a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms, and in young children may affect the course of development.

This study is a control trial of sertraline (Zoloft) in children aged 2 to 5 years old inclusive with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The trial is six months long, and each participant will receive a series of tests at both the beginning and end of the study. The researchers hope to show improvements in language and social deficits.

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of individualised homoeopathic treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).This study is of descriptive case study design, with a structured interview and quantitative measurement components taking place over 12 weeks, with a consultation every 4 weeks. Children aged 3-6 years of age with ASD are invited to participate and their parent/guardian is required to be present during each consultation. Each consultation will consist of a homoeopathic case taking, conduction of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) measures and a brief physical exam. After each consultation, the participant will receive an individualised homoeopathic remedy, according to their individual symptoms and characteristics, to take for the subsequent 4 weeks. This remedy will be determined using the Mercurius® repertory software.

This study investigates a service delivery model to better support young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the transition from school to the community. The effectiveness of the "McGill Transition Support Program", a small-group format intervention (meeting once a week for 2 hours over 10 weeks) focusing on communication, self-determination and working with others skills, is measured by multiple pre- and post-program-assessments in a "staggered enrollment trial", a variant of a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in European French-speaking countries is often heterogeneous and poorly evaluated. Six French-speaking early intervention units for children with ASD following the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) have been created since 2011 with the common aim to evaluate effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the ESDM applied to the European French-speaking public health system. In those units, Children receive ESDM at minimum 12H per week by trained therapist. Therapist work in collaboration with parents (at home) and preschool or nursery. The first aim of the investigators study is to evaluate the effectiveness of ESDM intervention 12 hours per week during 2 years on the global development of children with ASD compared to the interventions commonly available in the community.

Through funding from the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University (WOU) will be conducting research on the effect of a parent-delivered massage program on measures of autism and general development in young children with autism. Families will participate in an initial training, and receive 24 sessions of ongoing support and training from a trained therapist over the first nine months.

It was proposed that in order to teach these children to use a Voice Output Communication Aid (VOCA), it should be introduced through a play-based situation using parents as the primary interventionist.

This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled exploratory pilot study assessed the safety and feasibility of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted therapy for social anxiety in MDMA-naïve adults on the autism spectrum. Each of the 12 subjects participated in two blinded experimental sessions, assisted by either MDMA (75 mg to 125 mg) or placebo, which lasted seven hours. Before experimental sessions, participants underwent three separate hour-long preparatory sessions to learn what to expect and complete pre-treatment assignments. After each experimental session, participants underwent three separate hour-long integrative sessions to help integrate their experiences and insights from the experimental sessions. Subjects assigned to the MDMA group received two of three different doses, either 75 mg, 100 mg, or 125 mg MDMA. Overall, eight subjects were randomized to the MDMA group and four subjects were randomized to the placebo group. Observations before, during, and after experimental sessions were compared between these groups. The main objective of this study was to collect safety data to examine whether MDMA-assisted therapy was tolerated and to estimate symptom reduction in social anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms. The primary outcome measure was change in social anxiety symptoms as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) [Heimberg et al., 1999].

The study is a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) relative to a standard community treatment, in youngsters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The individual CBT program has been tailored over the last five years to the clinical needs of high-functioning youth with ASD.

The purpose of the study is to determine if a new device, called the Anxiety Meter, improves recognition and management of psychological arousal associated with anxiety in children with ASD.