View clinical trials related to Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Filter by:This study will inform understanding of how to support emerging adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The investigators will use a theoretically informed and research-based transition support program developed for people with ASD and test how effective it is when delivered by community agencies. Results will provide information on the effectiveness of the program as well as on mechanisms of change and contextual factors that promote or impede implementation.
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).
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, autism spectrum disorder, language and social communication disorder, motor coordination disorder, learning disorder (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysorthography), intellectual development disorder are frequent and long-lasting developmental difficulties that can be observed in children in various domains. They are often associated and have a significant impact on daily functioning at school and at home. The rate of people affected by neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder have increased significantly over the past 20 years. Improved screening only partly explains this evolution. A genetic predisposition plays an important role in the occurrence of these disorders, however, current scientific data suggest a multifactorial origin. Exposures such as those related to the use of pesticides, air pollution or the presence of endocrine disruptors in our diet could be involved in the genesis of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly during intrauterine life, a period of great vulnerability. The current diagnostic pathways for autism rarely enable the early identification of babies at risk. Without early detection and timely targeted intervention, these children have a poor health outcome and do not reach their full potential. The general objective of the MARIANNE cohort is to constitute a French research infrastructure dedicated to research on the biological and environmental determinants of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism. This cohort is based on the follow-up of 1200 families with already a child affected by an autism spectrum disorder, which implies a high risk of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder for the siblings, and of 500 families from the general population with no excess risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. The total number of subjects to be included (mother, father, unborn child and ASD sibling for the HR group) is thus 6300. The inclusion of these families will be at the beginning of a new pregnancy and the follow-up will be carried out from the second trimester of pregnancy until the children are 6 years old, the age at which the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders is possible. Biological, clinical, social and environmental data will be collected at different stages of the follow-up and will be included into a large database.
The goal of this clinical study is to learn about the utility and performance of the EarliPoint(™) System: Evaluation for Autism Spectrum Disorder to monitor changes in a child's verbal ability, non-verbal learning, and social disability over time in children ages 15-84 months with autism spectrum disorder or related developmental delays (DD) and in those who are typically developing. The main questions it aims to answer are: - To estimate the change in each of the EarliPoint index scores in typically developing children ages 15-84 months from baseline through 180 days as a function of the child's age. - To estimate the change in the EarliPoint verbal and non-verbal index scores in ASD/DD children ages 15-84 months from baseline through 180 days as a function of the child's age in: a) those who showed clinical improvement, and b) those who did not show clinical improvement. - To estimate the relationship of the EarliPoint verbal and non-verbal index scores to clinical reference assessments in ASD/DD children as a function of their age from baseline through 180 days. - To estimate the degree of change, if change occurs, month-to-month in the EarliPoint Social Disability Index score from baseline through 180 days. - To estimate the incidence of behavioral events (e.g., tantrums, etc.) which limit the subject from completing an eye-tracking session. - To estimate the incidence of adverse device effects associated with the use of the study device.
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 proposed project will attempt to confirm the benefits of a structured magic trick training program (MTTP) experience in adolescents with autism. Benefits of participating in a 6-week virtual MTTP will be evaluated using validated assessments to measure social-emotional competencies.
The goal of this study is to target the neurobiology of restricted and repetitive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder using N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a well-tolerated nutritional supplement that has shown promise for reducing symptom severity in recent small-scale trials. The findings from this research will shed light on the mechanisms of action underlying the clinical benefits of NAC and the effects of NAC on altering restricted and repetitive behavior symptom severity in children with autism spectrum disorder. This is a 12-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of NAC.
The goal of this randomized control trial is to test the efficacy of the Social ABCs 6 week, group-based model using a virtual delivery platform. The Social ABCs is a caregiver-mediated early intervention program, aiming to increase child skills in directed, intentional vocalizations, and shared smiling with a primary caregiver for toddlers identified as early signs or a confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or having related social communication challenges. A positive RCT was previously completed using the program's in-person individual, 12-week model, and a pilot study showing preliminary promise of the virtual group-based model has also been published. This adaptation to a virtual, group-based model maintains the core components of the intervention, but allows caregivers to meet and discuss the content as a group from their home environments and complete the program in a shorter timeframe. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Is the Social ABCs virtual group-based model an effective early intervention program for toddlers aged 12-42 months with probable or confirmed ASD, or experiencing social communication challenges, when compared to an active control condition? - Can primary caregivers of these toddlers achieve implementation fidelity in the Social ABCs intervention strategies using the 6-week virtual delivery model? Participants will be randomized into the treatment condition (A) where they will receive the Social ABCs virtual group-based intervention or, into a Control condition (B), where they meet virtually with other caregivers in the control groups over the course of 6 weeks, viewing and discussing 3 didactic presentations around general child development content (not autism- or Social ABCs-specific). Video and questionnaire data will be collected before (Time 0) and after (Time 1) the 6 week period. After an additional 6-8 weeks, the same data will be collected from both groups as a follow-up time point (Time 2). Researchers will compare the Treatment group and the Control group to measure change in the target behaviours for the child, the caregiver's use of strategies, as well as caregiver stress and self-efficacy, across time-points.
This study will test the hypothesis that brain systems are differentially regulated by serotonin in individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.
An accumulation of research evidence has pointed to parent-implemented communication treatment as effective in reducing the severity of social communication deficits in preschool children with ASD. Despite even high-quality evidence, real-world translation to clinical practice remains challenging, especially for children from lower-income families, for two reasons. First, the treatment outcome is highly variable despite study-level efficacy data, most likely due to unique child and parent factors that make treatment response uneven across individual children. Second, the cost of intervention with the largest effect sizes remains high due to its one-on-one format. With the overarching goal to reduce cost and to increase treatment effectiveness at the individual-child level, this project will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare the effectiveness of two options for intervention to address two specific objectives. The investigators will first ascertain whether parent-implemented communication treatment taught by a speech therapist in a Group format (up to 8 families learning together) is more effective than treatment learnt by the parents themselves in a Passive Control format (learning the same materials without the guidance of a therapist) at the study level. The investigators will then evaluate what combinations of parent and child behavioral factors determine which format of intervention is likely to be more effective at the individual-child level. It is likely that not all families require the more costly Group format of intervention. Machine learning analytics with cross-validation will be used in constructing predictive models of treatment response, which will increase the likelihood of these models being generalizable to new patients. This study will be among the first examples of fulfilling the promise of Precision Medicine in providing guidance to patients and families with developmental disorders not about whether to receive intervention but which option for intervention to receive in the context of multiple options. This predict-to prescribe approach of ASD intervention will likely lead to a paradigm shift in clinical practice and ultimately result in lowering the overall cost and increasing the effectiveness of intervention for children with ASD as individuals.