Improving Attention Skills of Children With Autism

Autism Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Joint Attention Intervention With Caregivers and Their Children With Autism

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00065910
• Other study ID #: R21MH064927
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2
• First received: August 1, 2003
• Last updated: June 28, 2007
• Start date: September 2001
• Est. completion date: January 2006

Study information

• Verified date: June 2003
• Source: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Federal Government
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Toddlers with autism have poor joint attention skills. Joint attention skills include pointing to objects, following another person’s gaze, and responding to invitations to join in a social interaction. Improved joint attention skills may lead to better verbal ability as the child ages. This study teaches caregivers how to help their toddlers with autism develop joint attention skills.

Description:

Young children with autism show impairment in joint attention. The impairment affects their ability to sustain a shared interest in social interaction and to use specific joint attention skills, such as pointing and showing. The importance of joint attention is underscored by data suggesting these skills are important to later language skills. Targeting joint attention deficits in developmentally young children using familiar caregivers may result in better child language outcomes. This study will teach caregivers how to initiate and maintain episodes of joint engagement with their children.

Participants will be randomized to either the intervention group or to a wait list control group. Each caregiver and child in the intervention group will participate in 24 1-hour sessions, 3 times a week for 8 weeks. In these sessions, caregivers will be taught 10 different modules for teaching joint attention skills to their children. Outcome measures will include language and joint attention skills in the child and caregiver adherence to the intervention protocols. Children and caregivers will be assessed at baseline, during the course of the 8-week intervention, and 10 weeks after the end of the intervention. Participants assigned to the wait list group will begin the intervention at Week 12.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 30
• Est. completion date: January 2006
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 12 Months to 36 Months

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

• Diagnosis of autism based on Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) criteria

Exclusion Criteria

• Seizures

• Medical or psychiatric diagnoses other than autism that potentially contribute to developmental delay (e.g., genetic syndromes)

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Autism
• Autistic Disorder

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Caregiver joint attention intervention

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles	California

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)	National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States,