Active clinical trials for "Child Development Disorders, Pervasive"

In this study, the investigators will be examining the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on executive function deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Half of the participants will be chosen by chance to receive active rTMS stimulation while half will be chosen by chance to receive sham rTMS. Sham rTMS will feel the same as active rTMS only there will be no direct brain stimulation. This is necessary to ensure that active rTMS is efficacious in the enhancement of executive function in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Based on results from a recently published pilot study, the investigators propose that active rTMS treatment will result in a significant improvement in working memory performance compared to sham rTMS treatment.

To evaluate whether a structured social skills program, called Social Skills Development,is superior to a wait list control group on measures of interpersonal interaction. The Social Skills Development (SSD) is a 16-week, group intervention that uses activities and peer tutors to promote interpersonal skills in children 8 to 11 years of age with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Following a diagnostic and social skills assessment,children are randomly assigned to SSD or wait list for 16 weeks. Children who were randomized to the wait list are offered SSD at Week 16. Children randomized to SSD are followed for 9 months to assess the durability of gains during the first 16 weeks.

This is a 12-week open label trial to evaluate whether omega-3 fatty acids is effective in reducing the severity of autism and its comorbidities.

The purpose of this 24 week study is to determine whether a new Parent Training program is effective in reducing disruptive behaviors in young children with pervasive developmental disorders.

This study will determine the effectiveness of mirtazapine in reducing anxiety in children with autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

This study will develop and test a treatment aimed at reducing anxiety in social situations for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of memantine in pediatric (6-12 years old) patients with autism, Asperger's Disorder, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) and to identify responders for participation in a follow-up randomized withdrawal study.

The purpose of this study is to develop a better tolerated and more effective pharmacologic treatment for individuals with Asperger's Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. This is an open-label investigation of aripiprazole in the management of the maladaptive behaviors of autistic disorder. We hypothesize that aripiprazole will be effective for reducing aggression and repetitive behavior.

The purpose of this research is to study the pharmacokinetics of risperidone in a group of pediatric patients with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). The study will determine how much risperidone and its breakdown product, 9-hydroxy-risperidone, is in the blood following the patient's usual daily dose. The study is designed to look at how fast children absorb, breakdown, and eliminate risperidone.

TThe research aims to verify the Italian adaptation of a parent-mediated group training focused on social skills for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills PEERS® is an evidence-based program with substantial literature (over 40 studies) applied in several countries. For the present study, about 40 adolescents, both boys, and girls with ASD, are enrolled and randomized into two groups. Groups (experimental group and waiting list) took part in the Italian telehealth adaptation of PEERS® at different times and were evaluated at several time points (baseline, pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up). The objective of the comparison was to explore the primary outcomes, such as the impact of training on social knowledge and performance, and secondary outcomes, like psychiatric comorbidities and neuropsychological profile. The hypothesis is that social skills (knowledge and performance) improve after training in the experimental group and affect the secondary outcomes, and the achievements are maintained at 3-months follow-up.