Group Intervention on Theory of Mind in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

NCT ID: NCT06179927

Last Updated: 2023-12-22

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

40 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-10-16

Study Completion Date

2024-01-22

Brief Summary

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The project involves the participation of 40 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder of both sexes, aged between 6 and 10 years. The subjects will undergo a pre-intervention evaluation phase, which will consist of administering the Theory of Mind (ToM) test present in the NEuroPSYcology second edition (NEPSY) battery, part A. The same test will be administered again at the end of the intervention. Once the inclusion criteria have been met and following the randomization of the sample, divided into Experimental Group (EG n=20) and Control Group (CG n=20), the administration of the search task will proceed. The study involves 12 sessions, one per week, lasting 45 minutes. The EG will view twelve social scenes created through a tablet. In the scenario, the depictions will be presented in color. Guided by the narrating voice of QT Robot, they will have to choose between two or three alternatives the one that represents the appropriate mental state by selecting it on the tablet. Consequently, an audio-visual feedback will be provided, through the robot, to give the subject information about the accuracy of their response. In both groups, a simple instruction will be given to the child, telling them to pay attention to the story that will be narrated and then answer simple questions. In the EG, QT robot will speak, while in the CG it will be the operator. The prompts will be related to the accuracy of the response or they will rather be aimed at encouraging the child to give the correct answer.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Autism Spectrum Disorder

Keywords

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Autism children theory of mind

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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QT robot treatment

Twenty children from the experimental group will undergo the treatment using QT Robot and the tablet.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

QT voice

Intervention Type OTHER

The subjects will undergo a pre-intervention assessment phase that will consist of administering the Theory Of Mind (TOM) test found in the NEuroPSYcology second edition (NEPSY) battery, part A; the same test will be re-submitted at the end of the intervention. Having ascertained the presence of the inclusion criteria and following randomization of the sample, the Experimental Group constituted of 20 children, will be administered the research task, which involves 12 sessions, one per week lasting 45 minutes. the experimental group will view 12 social scenes made via tablet. In the scenario, the depictions will be presented in color. They, guided by QT Robot's narrator voice, will have to choose from two or three alternatives the one that represents the appropriate mental state by selecting it on the tablet. Consequently, audio visual feedback will be provided, via the robot, to return information to the subject about the accuracy of the response.

Traditional treatment

Twenty children belonging to the control group will be subjected to the same training but in a traditional way, that is, by presenting image stimuli in a paper format.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Image stimuli

Intervention Type OTHER

The subjects will undergo a pre-intervention assessment phase that will consist of administering the Theory Of Mind (TOM) test found in the NEuroPSYcology second edition (NEPSY) battery, part A; the same test will be re-submitted at the end of the intervention. Having ascertained the presence of the inclusion criteria and following randomization of the sample, the control group constituted of 20 children, will be administered the research task, which involves 12 sessions, one per week lasting 45 minutes. the experimental group will view 12 social scenes on paper. They, guided by the narrator's voice of the operator will have to choose from two or three alternatives the one that represents the appropriate mental state by indicating it on the paper. Consequently, feedback will be provided by the operator to return information to the subject on the accuracy of the response.

Interventions

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QT voice

The subjects will undergo a pre-intervention assessment phase that will consist of administering the Theory Of Mind (TOM) test found in the NEuroPSYcology second edition (NEPSY) battery, part A; the same test will be re-submitted at the end of the intervention. Having ascertained the presence of the inclusion criteria and following randomization of the sample, the Experimental Group constituted of 20 children, will be administered the research task, which involves 12 sessions, one per week lasting 45 minutes. the experimental group will view 12 social scenes made via tablet. In the scenario, the depictions will be presented in color. They, guided by QT Robot's narrator voice, will have to choose from two or three alternatives the one that represents the appropriate mental state by selecting it on the tablet. Consequently, audio visual feedback will be provided, via the robot, to return information to the subject about the accuracy of the response.

Intervention Type OTHER

Image stimuli

The subjects will undergo a pre-intervention assessment phase that will consist of administering the Theory Of Mind (TOM) test found in the NEuroPSYcology second edition (NEPSY) battery, part A; the same test will be re-submitted at the end of the intervention. Having ascertained the presence of the inclusion criteria and following randomization of the sample, the control group constituted of 20 children, will be administered the research task, which involves 12 sessions, one per week lasting 45 minutes. the experimental group will view 12 social scenes on paper. They, guided by the narrator's voice of the operator will have to choose from two or three alternatives the one that represents the appropriate mental state by indicating it on the paper. Consequently, feedback will be provided by the operator to return information to the subject on the accuracy of the response.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Proven diagnosis of autism
* QS ≥ 75 assessed by administration of the GRIFFITHS scales
* Passing the emotional recognition test of the NEPSY II battery

Exclusion Criteria

* presence of other medical disorders
Minimum Eligible Age

6 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

10 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Messina, Italy

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Flavia Marino

Head of Unit

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Flavia Marino

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica

Locations

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Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB) - National Research Council (CNR)

Messina, , Italy

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Italy

Central Contacts

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Germana Doria

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +393465142289

Email: [email protected]

Giovanni Pioggia

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +393203390892

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Flavia Marino

Role: primary

Giovanni Pioggia

Role: backup

References

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Lecce S & Bianco F. Mettiti nei miei panni, Erickson 2018

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Begeer S, Howlin P, Hoddenbach E, Clauser C, Lindauer R, Clifford P, Gevers C, Boer F, Koot HM. Effects and Moderators of a Short Theory of Mind Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Autism Res. 2015 Dec;8(6):738-48. doi: 10.1002/aur.1489. Epub 2015 Apr 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25847054 (View on PubMed)

Helen Tager-Flusberg, Evaluating the Theory-of-Mind Hypothesis of Autism, 2007

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Uta Frith, Autism and Theory of mind in everyday life, 2018

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

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CNR-IRIB-PRO-2023-008

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id