Group Intervention on Executive Function in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Summary

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social communication, repetitive behaviors, and social interaction. A key aspect of autism concerns executive functions, which are a set of cognitive processes that regulate attention, planning, inhibition, and impulse control. These functions are often impaired in children with autism, affecting their learning and daily functioning.

The present protocol aims to test the first absolute and then comparative effectiveness of two executive function development programs: the "APISMELA" training and the "UNSTUCK \& ON TARGET! SECOND EDITION". Two groups will be held at the same time and will conduct the two programs in reverse order. In fact, the protocol is divided into two phases.

Participants subjected to the APISMELA group, finished the intervention sessions will conduct an interim evaluation and then begin the intervention phases of the UNSTUCK \& ON TARGET! SECOND EDITION protocol.

Participants subjected to the UNSTUCK \& ON TARGET! SECOND EDITION group, finished the intervention sessions will conduct an interim evaluation and then begin the intervention phases of the APISMELA protocol.

Group intervention programs were chosen for two reasons: group intervention compared with individual intervention have lower costs for patients and their families and thus higher overall social acceptability. The second is that group intervention within the social-constructivist paradigm, to which the two chosen programs belong, becomes a fundamental resource for stimulating that augmentative learning that is a source of development on the cognitive and conceptual levels for human beings.

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Autism

Interventions

OTHER

ApisMela protocol

The activities and games proposed by this protocol are offered in a sequence characterized by increasing complexity. The same function is stimulated with varied tasks because the repetitiveness of the same task negatively affects skill generalization. ApisMela training teaches to focus on the purpose of the task, check that you understand it, and make explicit the procedures to be implemented. Language plays a crucial role, participants are encouraged to use speech as a tool for attention regulation and cognitive processing. It's divided into 20 sessions: a weekly group meeting of one hour and thirty.

OTHER

"Unstuck and on Target" protocol

The protocol teaches people to be more flexible, skillful in planning and goal-oriented. It is useful for moving more easily from one topic to another and from one task to another, considering new ideas or another person's point of view, generalizing skills learned across contexts so that teachers, parents and therapists can focus more on educational aspects and less on behavioral management. It is divided into 20 sessions: a weekly group meeting of one hour and thirty minutes. A homework sheet is provided for each session to consolidate the skill learned and generalize it outside the work setting. Parents have an active role in performing the task.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fondazione di Comunità di Messina onlus

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Flavia Marino · Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB) - National Research Council (CNR)

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

7 Years

Max Age

13 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-12-01

Primary Completion

2023-06-30

Completion

2024-03-31

Countries

• Italy

Study Locations