Autism Spectrum Disorder
Conditions
Brief summary
The investigator's goal is to address the need for the development of social interventions for youth with autism in an innovative intervention, SENSE Theatre. The intervention blends established behavioral strategies with theatre techniques that emphasize the involvement of peers, play and performance. The resulting synergy extends promising pilot studies in a randomized group experiment.
Detailed description
The investigator's goal is to address the need for the development of social interventions for youth with autism in an innovative intervention, SENSE Theatre. The intervention blends established behavioral strategies with theatre techniques that emphasize the involvement of peers, play and performance. The resulting synergy extends promising pilot studies in a randomized group experiment. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to evaluate and extend the impact of a peer-mediated, theatre-based intervention on children with ASD with an emphasis on social functioning. The 10-session program incorporates theatrical approaches, trained typically developing peers and established behavioral strategies. Previous studies using pre-post designs have reported improvement in several skills, such as face memory, theory of mind and social cognition. A primary objective of this investigation is to utilize a true experimental design while evaluating social ability across multiple levels of analysis including neuropsychological, cognitive, behavioral, and functional outcomes.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSENSE Theatre
A peer-mediated, theatre-based intervention.
BEHAVIORALDelayed Intervention
Sponsors
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Vanderbilt University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 16 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder with IQ ≥ to 70.
Exclusion criteria
* IQ ≤ 70, children with current aggression toward self or others.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Peer Interaction Playground Paradigm | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 | A playground play session conducted with trained typically developing peers. |
| Event Related Potentials (ERP) incidental memory task | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 | — |
| Social Responsiveness Scale | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 | — |
| Adaptive Behavior Assessment System | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 | Parent questionnaire of child's adaptive behavior |
| Parenting Stress Index | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 | parent-based questionnaire |
| NEPSY Memory for faces | Change from Baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 | The measure requires the child to observe 16 faces of children and then remember them immediately and following a 30-minute delay. Raw scores are generated which are converted to standardized scores based on normative data. |
| Measurement of Salivary Cortisol levels | Change from Baseline Cortisol level at 20 minutes, 40 minutes, 60 minutes | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 |
| Clinical Evaluation of Fundamentals Recalling Sentences subtest | Change from baseline at Week 10 and Week 16 |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed