Schema, Emotion and Behavior-Based Therapy for School Children

NCT ID: NCT02010086

Last Updated: 2018-09-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 44 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2011-12-31
• Study Completion Date: 2016-06-30

Brief Summary

The study is a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) relative to a standard community treatment, in youngsters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The individual CBT program has been tailored over the last five years to the clinical needs of high-functioning youth with ASD.

Detailed Description

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is among the most common childhood developmental disorders. A key goal in the field is the discovery of methods that reduce core autism symptoms. Core autism symptoms include social-cognitive impairments, pragmatic language deficits, and repetitive and rigid behaviors. The core symptoms tend to be stable and resistant to intervention. Most treatments involve group-based social skills training (SST), with limited effects. No treatment for core autism symptoms in school-aged children with ASD meets American Psychological Association guidelines for possible efficacy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) offers a novel approach for addressing core autism symptoms in higher functioning school-age youngsters. Initial results suggest that individual CBT may also be promising for reducing core autism symptoms (Wood et al., 2009b; Drahota, Wood et al., 2011). The treatment is based on a contemporary model of memory retrieval competition, employing strategies for enhancing the retention of adaptive conceptual and behavioral responses and the suppression of idiosyncratic beliefs and behaviors in daily social contexts, emphasizing the use of deep semantic processing to enhance memory retrieval. We are proposing a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of individual CBT relative to a standard community treatment for youngsters with ASD.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Therapists will work with families for 32 weekly sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, implementing the CBT manual for children with ASD (Wood et al., 2007).

Standard Community Treatment

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Standard Community Treatment

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

In this condition, the child meets with a therapist for 32 weekly sessions, each 90 minutes. Therapists use an established manual to provide a standard community therapy treatment.

Interventions

Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Therapists will work with families for 32 weekly sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, implementing the CBT manual for children with ASD (Wood et al., 2007).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Standard Community Treatment

In this condition, the child meets with a therapist for 32 weekly sessions, each 90 minutes. Therapists use an established manual to provide a standard community therapy treatment.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Meets research criteria for a diagnosis of autism, based on child scores on the ADI-R and ADOS tests.
• If taking medication, have maintained a stable dose for 1 month prior to baseline assessment.
• Between the ages of 6-9 years.
• The child's teacher consents to participate in the study to play a modest role in helping implement the intervention and facilitate the school observation assessment.

Exclusion Criteria

• IQ less than 85.
• The child starts taking new medication(s) or current medication dose changes either (a) less than 1 month prior to the diagnostic evaluation, or (b) during the study period.
• The child is participating in an intensive early intervention program for autism such as applied behavior analysis or floortime.
• For any reason the child or parents appear unable to participate in the treatment program.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of California, Los Angeles

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Jeffrey J. Wood

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Jeffrey Wood

Los Angeles, California, United States

Countries

United States

References

Wood JJ, Kuhfeld M, Sturm A, Cai L, Wood KS, Cornejo Guevara MV, Galan CA, Johnson AR, Cho AC, Weisz JR. Personalized autism symptom assessment with the Youth Top Problems Scale: Observational and parent-report formats for clinical trials applications. Psychol Assess. 2022 Jan;34(1):43-57. doi: 10.1037/pas0001065. Epub 2021 Aug 30.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 34460285 (View on PubMed)

Wood JJ, Sze Wood K, Chuen Cho A, Rosenau KA, Cornejo Guevara M, Galan C, Bazzano A, Zeldin AS, Hellemann G. Modular cognitive behavioral therapy for autism-related symptoms in children: A randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2021 Feb;89(2):110-125. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000621.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 33705167 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Autism Speaks 7552

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

12000556

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id