PRT for Adolescents With High Functioning Autism

Launched by STANFORD UNIVERSITY · Aug 3, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The clinical trial titled "PRT for Adolescents With High Functioning Autism" is investigating how a treatment called Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) can help improve social and behavioral skills in highly verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study will also look at changes in brain function after the treatment. This trial is currently recruiting participants, specifically adolescents aged 12 to 18 years who live in the San Francisco Bay Area and have a clinical diagnosis of high-functioning autism.

To be eligible for the trial, participants need to have an IQ above 80, be right-handed, and have no metal in their body (like braces). They also need to be willing to attend weekly treatment sessions for 9 weeks and show interest in improving their social skills. Before joining the study, they must have stable treatment plans in place for at least a month. Participants will undergo assessments to understand their social skills and may have MRI scans as part of the study. If you know an adolescent who meets these criteria and is looking to improve their social abilities, they might be a good fit for this trial.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, higher functioning/low support needs
• • Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Participants with a Full Scale IQ \> 80 on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II)
• • Right-handed
• • No metal in their body/unremovable metal on their body (i.e., braces)
• • First language is English
• • Must live in the San Francisco Bay Area
• • Able and willing to receive intervention weekly for 9 weeks
• • Adolescent is interested in improving their social skills
• • MRI Compatibility: No major contraindication for MRI.
• • Diagnosis of ASD using ADOS-2 and ADI-R.
• • No evidence of a genetic, metabolic, or infectious etiology for their autism.
• • Primary diagnosis of ASD
• • No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate neonatal period.
• • Stable treatment (e.g., ABA), speech therapy, school placement, psychotropic medication(s) or biomedical intervention(s) for at least 1 month prior to baseline measurements with no anticipated changes during study participation.
• • Score of at least 50% or below on at least 4 out of the 9 social target areas in the SLO (administered during pre-measures)
• • No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate neonatal period.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • History of claustrophobia, previous head injury, serious neurological or medical illness, birth weight less than 4 lb. and/or gestational age \< 34 weeks
• • Left-handed
• • Braces or any metal in their body