Active clinical trials for "Neurodevelopmental Disorders"

This study will evaluate a peer service program for caregivers of youth struggling with mental illness using a program developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) called NAMI Basics. This peer service program for caregivers was adapted from their successful and empirically supported model for caregivers of adult children with mental illness (Family-to-Family). The child-focused intervention, NAMI Basics, is a six-class curriculum focused on increasing caregiver knowledge about mental illness, empowering parents to advocate for their children across service systems, and introducing skills that assist in family problem-solving and communication. The current study is a randomized effectiveness trial of NAMI Basics. Caregivers who are parenting youth with a mental illness (N = 175) referred to the NAMI Basics program through natural referral routes will be given the option to participate in the study, and if interested, randomly assigned to either an immediate NAMI Basics classes (Wave A) or an 8-week delay condition (Wave B), followed by initiation of the NAMI Basics class.

The reported social benefits of knitting combined with the urgent need for social and activity-based programs in the disability community suggest that a knitting intervention may fill a substantial gap in available programs. Knitting may also be well suited to autistic strengths, combining sensory aspects (colourful sights, soft touch, rhythmic sounds), visual patterning, and repetitive actions. Surprisingly, no knitting programs for ASD or other conditions are reported in the literature. It is proposed that a knitting group can provide social and skill-building opportunities, improving real-world social outcomes for youth with ASD, and resulting in KneuroKnits, a program designed specifically to serve this need. The program will be designed and run by a collaborative team of clinicians, researchers, knitting experts, and a self-advocate with ASD. This program will enhance evidence supporting programs providing contexts for the dual goals of meaningful social interaction for young people with neurodevelopmental disorders, physical disabilities, and acquired brain injuries and building a real world creative skill that can facilitate social interaction within and beyond the program. This study will evaluate participants' experiences of the program as well as their levels of anxiety at various points during the program.

This study is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of functional power training on attention, gross and fine motor skill, participation and quality of life in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by comparing traditional strength training and their healthy peers. In the literature, there are limited studies that investigate the effect of power exercise in children with ADHD. But there is no randomized controlled trial include power exercises which is designed to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) criteria and investigate the effects on attention, gross and fine motor skill, participation and quality of life in children with ADHD. This study hypothesizes that power exercises could improve attention, gross and fine motor skill, participation, and quality of life better than traditional strength training in children with ADHD.

Organizational, time management and planning (OTMP) skills deficits are seriously impairing features of developmental disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and autism, which compromise school performance and family relations. The manualized Organizational Skills Training program (OST) was designed to target children's specific OTMP deficits. However, the brain mechanisms of treatment-induced changes remain unknown. The current study combines a training intervention with non-invasive MRI imaging in a pre-/post-design to address this question.

Severe mood dysregulation (SMD) is a very common syndrome in children. Its symptoms include very severe irritability, including persistent anger and frequent outbursts, as well as distractibility, hyperactivity, and other symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many children with SMD receive the diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD) in the community, although they do not have clear manic episodes (with symptoms such as extreme happiness and decreased need for sleep). Because SMD has not been studied in depth, we do not know which medications are most helpful to those with SMD. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the stimulant medication methylphenidate (MPH, more commonly known as Ritalin ) when combined (or not combined) with the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa ) in treating symptoms of SMD in children and adolescents. This study will provide information about how to treat SMD in youth. This study will include approximately 80 patients between 7 and 17 years of age with SMD. The patient s symptoms must have started before age 12. The study will consist of four phases carried out over 4 to 5 months. During Phase 1, the patient will undergo blood and urine tests, and will gradually taper off his or her medication. The duration of this phase depends on the patient s medication before starting the study. In Phase 2, the patient remains off all medication for 1 week. In Phase 3, the patient will be treated with MPH for 2 weeks, and then will be randomly assigned to receive either MPH plus citalopram or MPH plus a placebo for a further 8 weeks. In Phase 4, the researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of the medications taken, and begin an open treatment phase using medications that they deem appropriate for that patient (this may include MPH with citalopram and/or other medication combinations). Most patients will be admitted to the Pediatric Behavioral Health Unit at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center during the medication withdrawal part of the study (Phases 1 and 2). From Phase 3 on, a patient may participate as an inpatient, outpatient, or in day treatment, depending on what is in his or her best interests. ...

This study entails a "proof of concept" evaluation of a novel intervention, Parents and Infants Engaged (PIE), for prodromal infants at-risk for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs). The objectives of the current study are to examine whether the PIE intervention (a) transforms parent-infant transactions over time as intended, thereby facilitating increases in the time infants spend in joint engagement with their parents, and (b) is associated with improved social-communication functioning and positive changes in indices of autonomic self-regulation in infants at-risk for NDs.

Previous studies have highlighted the need to offer targeted effective interventions to strengthen the wellbeing of all family members in families with children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Interventions for this target group requires development and research. A new family intervention, Dialogical Family Guidance (DFG) was tested in this study. All families received DFG intervention ( 6 meetings ).

Researchers in the Neurodevelopmental Division at Phoenix Children's Hospital are conducting a study about mitochondrial function in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study involves up to 5 visits to Phoenix Children's Hospital with fasting blood draws, behavioral assessments, and/or questionnaires. Other samples may be collected when appropriate. This study is currently recruiting. There is no cost for visits or study-related exams.

This is a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing dexmedetomidine sedation with caudal anaesthesia, and general sevoflurane anaesthesia with caudal anaesthesia for inguinal herniotomies in neonates and infants below 3 months of age. The investigators will compare the efficacy and adverse events associated with each of these techniques and neurodevelopmental outcomes of the infants in each group at 6 months and 2 years of age.

The purpose of this study is to determine if choline bitartrate can be administered daily to children with prenatal alcohol exposure, ages 2.5 to 5, as a potential treatment for brain development and cognitive functioning.