Sensorimotor Affect Relationship-based Therapy (SMART) for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Ages 2-12

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01977248

Acronym

SMART

Enrollment

Registered

2013-11-06

Start date

2013-10-31

Completion date

2014-12-31

Last updated

2015-02-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autistic Disorder

Brief summary

The SMART Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital is an interdisciplinary social skills group that teaches children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ages 2-12 the fundamental social skills necessary to build and maintain relationships. The manualized curriculum addresses skills such as joint attention, eye contact, play, and peer engagement. Currently individual goals are set for each child who participates and this is documented in the daily treatment note. In order to research group outcomes, the investigators will use parent questionnaires (an addition to current clinical practices) to measure changes in behavior after each 12 week session for up to one year of treatment. The investigators hypothesize that maladaptive behaviors will decrease and adaptive behaviors will increase in children with ASD after participation in the SMART program.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALSensorimotor Affect Relationship-based Therapy (SMART)

The SMART Program is an interdisciplinary program that teaches children ages 2-12.5 the fundamental skills necessary to build and maintain relationships. Sessions last for 12 weeks at a time and address skills such as: tolerance for sitting and structure, joint attention, eye contact, transitions between activities, participation in group activities, communication skills, and play skills.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

2 Years to 12 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Ages 2 to 12.5 * Diagnosis of ASD OR who meet a minimum ASD cutoff score on a screening questionnaire (SCQ or ASQ:SE, depending on age)

Exclusion criteria

* Non-English speaking * Uncorrected vision disorder * Moderate to severe hearing loss * Non-ambulatory * Previous participation in a SMART group * Accompaniment by aide * Extreme behavioral disorder

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory (PDDBI)	Upon enrollment in the study (baseline), day 1 of treatment, and end of treatment for each 12 week session (up to 4 sessions)	Parent-report questionnaire.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026