autism spectrum disorders pervasive developmental disorders
Conditions
Interventions
The social skills training consists of 15 sessions of 90 minutes for the child.
In the social skills PLUS group 8 parent-sessions will be added to the 15
child-sessions, and teachers will be involve
Sponsors
Accare, Universitair Centrum Kinder- en Jeugdpsychiatrie Groningen
Eligibility
Age
2 Years to 17 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: [1] Clinical DSM-IV-TR diagnosis Pervasive Developmental Disorder; Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome or Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).;[2] Classification of Autism on the Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R; (De Jonge & de Bildt 2007; Rutter et al., 2003) for participants with an Autistic Disorder or at most 2 points below cut-off for autism for participants with Asperger Syndrome or PDD-NOS.;[3] Classification of Autism Spectrum with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS, (de Bildt & De Jonge, 2008; Lord et al, 1999).;[4] Total IQ of 80 o higher.;[5] The child is in one of the last two grades of regular or special education.;[6] Parents (and child) give informed consent for the study, in accordance with the WMO (Wet Medisch Onderzoek met mensen).
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: [1] A known physical problem that hinders participation in the study.;[2] The inability to visit the outpatient clinic for the social skills training.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Primary outcome of the study is the Vineland, an interview with parents on adaptive skills of the child. The Vineland covers three domains: 'socialization', 'communication' and 'daily living skills'. The interview is well known and widely-used in (inter) national studies in autism. It is available in a Dutch version (de Bildt & Kraijer, 2003). The Vineland was used as succesful outcome measure in the only randomized trial in the literature (Owens et al., 2008). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Outcome measures; parents: [1] Individual objectives: Five individual objectives will be defined for each child, together with the parents. These objectives will be chosen from a list of objectives, based on former trainings. The objectives will be evaluated before training and in follow-up. [2] social skills that the child already has, or has learned throughout the training will be measured with the Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS, Gresham & Elliott, 1989; Dutch translation Prins & Diepraam, 1998). The SSRS is a questionnaire regarding various aspects of social behavior: communication, cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, engagement and self-control. Outcome measures; child: From extensive experience with questioning children with ASDs about training and effectiveness it is known that they are generally only marginally able to report on social limitations and learned skills (Hoekzema-Kruidhof, 2002). Therefore, in the current study, outcome measures in the child are focused on direct observation in two settings. Self-reporting is included based on the individual objectives as defined with the child and parents before the training. [1] Individual objectives: Five individual objectives will be defined for each child, together with the parents. These objectives will be chosen from a list of objectives, based on former trainings. The objectives will be evaluated before training and in follow-up. [2] ADOS: The ADOS contains various tasks that evaluate specific social and communicative behaviors that have been part of the training. For example: eye contact, non-verbal communication, insight into social relations, into feelings and emotions of self and others. After a recent standardisation of ADOS scores, it has become possible to measure changes in the three domains of ASD over time (Gotham et al., 2008). [3] Direct observation of social behavior: During follow-up, the child will be observed in an unstructured situation at s | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed