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Behavioural Intervention

Digital Game Therapy for Autism

N/A

Waitlist Available

Led By Dennis P Wall, PhD

Research Sponsored by Stanford University

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Be younger than 18 years old

Must not have

Child has additional psychiatric or neurologic diagnoses including genetic syndromes or epilepsy in addition to autism.

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up baseline (week 0), week 8

Awards & highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

Summary

This trial studies the effects of an app, GuessWhat, on improving communication skills in kids with autism. Families use smartphones to download the app and play games like charades, emotion guessing and quizzes.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for children aged 3-12 with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), whose parents are at least 18 years old and can confirm the diagnosis. Parents need to have a compatible iOS or Android smartphone and be able to read English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Children with additional psychiatric or neurological conditions are not eligible.

What is being tested?

The study tests 'GuessWhat', a digital game therapeutic on smartphones designed to boost social skills in kids with ASD. It includes charades, emotion recognition games, and quizzes that families play following a set schedule.

What are the potential side effects?

Since this intervention involves playing educational games on a mobile app, there aren't typical medical side effects; however, potential issues could include increased screen time leading to eye strain or less time spent on other activities.

Eligibility Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

You may be eligible for the trial if you check “No” for criteria below:

Select...

My child has autism and other psychiatric or neurological conditions.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ baseline (week 0), week 8

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~baseline (week 0), week 8

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and baseline (week 0), week 8 for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Change in parent reported socialization based on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales 3rd Edition (VABS-3) Parent/Caregiver Socialization Subscale, from baseline to week 8

Secondary study objectives

Change in Emotion Recognition from baseline to week 8

Change in Parental Stress Scale - from baseline to week 8

Other study objectives

mobile autism risk assessment score at baseline

Awards & Highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

All patients enrolled in this study will receive some form of active treatment.

Trial Design

2Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Active Control

Group I: Charades-based mobile digital therapeuticExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

The mobile app is a charades style game and app that engages parent and child in fluid social interaction where the parent must guess what the child is acting out based on the prompt shown on the phone screen. Participants will use their own personal phone to download the study app. Parents are asked to play with their child for 15 minutes 3-4 times per week for 8 weeks.

Group II: Treatment as UsualActive Control1 Intervention

Participants in control group will continue their Applied Behavior Analysis therapy as usual for 8 weeks, and then will be able to cross-over to the treatment condition at week 8.

0 / 1Eligibility criteria met