Social Groups for Australian Children on the Autism Spectrum

NCT ID: NCT04024111

Last Updated: 2024-02-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 84 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2019-12-01
• Study Completion Date: 2023-10-01

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the KONTAKT social skills group training in Australian children on the autism spectrum compared to an active control group which is a group Art class

Detailed Description

KONTAKT is a manualized Social Skills Group Training program designed for children and adolescents with ASD which aims to improve communication, social interaction skills, reduce the severity of ASD symptoms, improve the ability to empathise and adapt in a group setting. A large randomized controlled trial in Sweden found that adolescents who participated in KONTAKT demonstrated improvements in social skills, behaviour, reduced stress and improved overall functioning as reported by parents immediately following and at three months after the program. However, social skills are at least in part influenced by social cultural contexts and there is a need to understand the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of KONTAKT in an Australian context. Moreover, in the previous studies, the social skills groups were compared to treatment as usual groups. Therefore, this study evaluates the KONTAKT social skills group training in Australian children on the autism spectrum compared to an active control group which is a group art class

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

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

Study Groups

KONTAKT(c)

A social skills group training

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

KONTAKT(c)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

KONTAKT is a manualized Social skills group training program designed for children and adolescents on the Autism Spectrum aimed at improving communication, social interaction skills, the severity of ASD symptoms, and the ability to empathise and adapt in a group setting. The KONTAKT participants (4-8 participants) meet face to face weekly for 16 weeks for 75 minutes facilitated by two health professionals with experience of running groups for autistic children

Art group

A social Art group

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Art group

Intervention Type: OTHER

Art program, a manualized Art group delivered in a social format, has been designed for children on the Autism Spectrum delivered by health professionals with experience of running social groups for Autistic children. The Art program's participants (4-8 participants) meet face to face weekly for 16 weeks for 75 minutes.

Interventions

KONTAKT(c)

KONTAKT is a manualized Social skills group training program designed for children and adolescents on the Autism Spectrum aimed at improving communication, social interaction skills, the severity of ASD symptoms, and the ability to empathise and adapt in a group setting. The KONTAKT participants (4-8 participants) meet face to face weekly for 16 weeks for 75 minutes facilitated by two health professionals with experience of running groups for autistic children

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Art group

Art program, a manualized Art group delivered in a social format, has been designed for children on the Autism Spectrum delivered by health professionals with experience of running social groups for Autistic children. The Art program's participants (4-8 participants) meet face to face weekly for 16 weeks for 75 minutes.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Individuals aged 8 to 12
• Clinical consensus diagnosis of ASD as defined by DSM-5 and confirmed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation schedule-2
• IQ scores > 70 as measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence - Second Edition (WASI-II)

Exclusion Criteria

• Existing prior comorbid externalizing behaviours as assessed by the Childhood Behaviour Checklist (CBCL).
• Clinically assessed self-injurious behaviour • Low intrinsic motivation to participate in a social skills training group
• Insufficient English language skills

• Minimum Eligible Age: 8 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Autism Association of Western Australia

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Stan Perron charitable trust

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Karolinska Institutet

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Curtin University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Sonya Girdler

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Curtin University

Bentley, Western Australia, Australia

Countries

Australia

References

Hayden-Evans M, Afsharnejad B, Lee EAL, Milbourn B, Picen T, Johnson M, Bolte S, Girdler S. "I made friends a lot more easily": children and families' experiences of social group programs for children on the autism spectrum. BMC Pediatr. 2025 May 3;25(1):353. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05686-6.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40316953 (View on PubMed)

Afsharnejad B, Lee EAL, Hayden-Evans M, Black MH, Alach T, Fridell A, Coco C, Johnson M, Bolte S, Girdler S. Adaptation and Feasibility of KONTAKT Social Skills Toolbox Group Program for Australian Autistic Children. Scand J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Psychol. 2024 Dec 5;12(1):20240011. doi: 10.2478/sjcapp-2024-0011. eCollection 2024 Jan.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 39649127 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

HRE2017-0245-34

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id