Improving Working Memory of Children With Autism

Summary

Existing findings suggest that challenges in working memory (WM) of children with autism are common (Habib, Pollick, Melville, \& 2019). The WM malfunction can last across the lifespan and individuals with autism exhibit large WM impairments in both phonological and visuospatial domains (Habib, Harris, Pollick \& Melville, 2019). Despite the well-documented effects of WM impairments, little research has been dedicated to strategies for improving the working memory of children with autism.

Previous research found that individuals who verbally repeat a previously presented stimulus (i.e., rehearsal) tended to perform better than those who do not rehearse (Bebko, Rhee, Ncube, \& Dahary, 2017; Joseph, Steele, Meyer, \& Tager-Flusberg, 2005). In addition, among studies that investigated WM in children with autism, Baltruschat et al (2011a; 2011; 2012) conduct studies using positive reinforcement. Their results reveal that the positive reinforcement appeared to have produced better working memory.

The present study intends to investigate if training children with autism to use rehearsal strategy would improve their working memory. In addition, the investigators are also interested to see if reinforcement is a critical component that may provide additive effects beyond the effects of rehearsal. The investigators intend to randomly assign children to four different conditions: control, rehearsal, reinforcement, and rehearsal + reinforcement conditions. The results of this study should provide empirical evidence for practitioners to improve WM in children with autism.

Conditions

• Autism

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Rehearsal strategy

Teaching children to cumulatively rehearse numbers as they are being said.

BEHAVIORAL

Reinforcement

Providing reinforcement for correct recall after a delay.

BEHAVIORAL

Rehearsal strategy and reinforcement

Teaching children to cumulatively rehearse numbers as they are being said, AND providing reinforcement for correct recall after a delay.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shanghai Xuhui Clover Children Healthy Garden

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Jingdezhen Kindkids Autism Rehabilitation and Training Center

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Sunshine Special Education Center

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Arizona State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Chengan Yuan, PhD · Arizona State University

• Erin Rotheram-Fuller, PhD · Arizona State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

4 Years

Max Age

8 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-01-15

Primary Completion

2020-11-10

Completion

2020-11-10

Countries

• China

Study Locations