Neural and Behavioral Outcomes of Social Skills Groups in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Summary

The purpose of this study is to compare two different treatment approaches to social skills groups for high-functioning children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This project will examine changes in both behavior and the brain following treatment.

Conditions

• Autism
• Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

The CBT social skills curriculum is manualized and anchored in CBT strategies, such as problem identification, affective education, performance feedback, and weekly homework activities to facilitate generalization. The curriculum is a compilation of lessons targeting key social deficits in children with ASD, such as nonverbal communication, emotion recognition, and theory of mind. Structured teaching includes defining skills, breaking them down into simple, concrete steps, modeling the skill through role-play, and introducing a game or activity to practice the target skill. The approach to the parent group will be psychoeducational with a focus on reviewing target skills, rationale for teaching target skills, homework, progress or obstacles, and identifying strategies to promote generalization. Parent information handouts will be provided.

BEHAVIORAL

Play Therapy

The social play group is manualized, led by a trained clinician and support staff, follows a specific routine, and contains a parent group component. Group leaders will follow participants' interests and suggestions for games. Group leaders utilize strategies such as reflective functioning statements on the child's behaviors to build emotion-focused play skills. The therapeutic setting incorporates play designed to encourage emotion-focused play including make-believe (dolls, houses), sensory (e.g. play-doh), and cooperative play (e.g. board games) toys. The approach to the parent group will be supportive rather than psychoeducational. Parents will set the agenda for discussion, facilitated by the group leader.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  collaborator NIH

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ting Wang, Ph.D. · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

• Latha Soorya, Ph.D. · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

8 Years

Max Age

11 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2009-09-30

Primary Completion

2012-09-30

Completion

2012-09-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations