Thinking in Speech for Children With Autism

NCT ID: NCT05256095

Last Updated: 2024-10-03

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 22 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-05-12
• Study Completion Date: 2022-08-10

Brief Summary

This study examines a cognitive therapy for autistic children, Thinking in Speech. Thinking in Speech helps children with autism independently cope with everyday events that cause stress, by developing their ability to use "inner speech".

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Thinking in Speech (TiS) in teaching children to identify when they are experiencing a problem and learn to ask for help appropriately.

Participants. Participants will be 20 verbal children, aged 7-11, who have been diagnosed with autism or related neurocognitive disorders. Therapists will be experienced and certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who will be trained to use TiS For this grant, investigators will develop a standardized training program that can be administered to community SLPs. Training will consist of background reading and discussions, analysis of past therapy sessions, and practice sessions with individualized feedback provided by a trainer. Training will focus on developing the child's ability to ask for help. Asking for help requires a complex combinations of executive functions and being able to adopt the perspective of another person. Training sessions will be recorded for use in further training development and enhancements. A five-week training program is anticipated.

Procedure: Both training and therapy will be delivered remotely. The therapists will plan to conduct sixteen 30-minute remote therapy sessions over 8 weeks - the actual time frame will depend on the health and scheduling demands of the therapists and children. All TiS sessions will be video-recorded. Children will be randomly assigned to either receive therapy immediately or to be placed on a 10-week wait-list after which they will receive therapy.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Speech

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: SEQUENTIAL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Immediate Assignment to Intervention Group

This group will begin to receive the intervention immediately upon entering the study. Thinking in Speech is a novel cognitive therapy that helps children with autism independently cope with everyday events that cause stress, by developing their ability to use inner speech. Participants will complete two sessions per week for eight week, for a total of sixteen sessions. Sessions will be conducted by speech-language pathologists who are trained in Thinking in Speech. Sessions will be conducted via a secure Zoom platform.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Thinking in Speech

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Thinking in Speech is a therapy to help children with autism learn to cope with daily stressors and improve their communication.

Waitlist Assignment to Intervention Group

The Waitlist group will begin to receive the intervention 10 weeks after entering the study. Thinking in Speech is a novel cognitive therapy that helps children with autism independently cope with everyday events that cause stress, by developing their ability to use inner speech. Participants will complete two sessions per week for eight week, for a total of sixteen sessions. Sessions will be conducted by speech-language pathologists who are trained in Thinking in Speech. Sessions will be conducted via a secure Zoom platform.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Thinking in Speech

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Thinking in Speech is a therapy to help children with autism learn to cope with daily stressors and improve their communication.

Interventions

Thinking in Speech

Thinking in Speech is a therapy to help children with autism learn to cope with daily stressors and improve their communication.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Verbal language ability as reported by the caregiver
• Ages 7-11
• Prior autism or related neurocognitive diagnosis
• Child proficient in English
• Caregiver proficient in English
• Residing in Pennsylvania
• Access to internet at home

Exclusion Criteria

• History of major child mental illness (e.g., bipolar, schizophrenia, psychosis)
• Child visual and/or hearing impairment that interferes with his/her ability to participate in therapy

• Minimum Eligible Age: 7 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 11 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Pittsburgh

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Barbara Baumann

Research Instructor in Psychiatry

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Barbara Baumann, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Pittsburgh

Locations

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

STUDY20060157

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id