Gaming for Autism to Mold Executive Skills Project
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Neurology, Psychiatric, Autism |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Neurology, Psychiatry / Psychology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 7 - 11 |
| Updated: | 2/22/2019 |
| Start Date: | February 2015 |
| End Date: | November 2017 |
Electrophysiological Response to Executive Control Training
The goal of the project is to better understand executive control—how children manage complex
or conflicting information in the service of a goal. This skill has been linked to social and
academic functioning in typically developing children. Executive control is often reduced in
children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but it has not been a focus of treatment. This
project will have the goal of determining whether computer-training tasks developed to
enhance the executive control skills of preschoolers and school-aged children without autism
are appropriate for children with ASD. The investigators do not yet know if this training is
beneficial for children with ASD. In addition, because executive control has been found to
relate to social knowledge and problem solving, the investigators will collect information
with this type of task to measure possible effects of training.
or conflicting information in the service of a goal. This skill has been linked to social and
academic functioning in typically developing children. Executive control is often reduced in
children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but it has not been a focus of treatment. This
project will have the goal of determining whether computer-training tasks developed to
enhance the executive control skills of preschoolers and school-aged children without autism
are appropriate for children with ASD. The investigators do not yet know if this training is
beneficial for children with ASD. In addition, because executive control has been found to
relate to social knowledge and problem solving, the investigators will collect information
with this type of task to measure possible effects of training.
Participation will include two phone calls to determine if the study is a good fit and
collect some preliminary information, five visits to Boston Children's Hospital (3 before
training and 2 about 6-8 weeks later), caregiver questionnaires, and an optional teacher
questionnaire packet. The visits will include activities designed to assess verbal and
nonverbal thinking ability; social skills and general interests; and specific tasks related
to cognitive and social problem solving. In addition, EEG measurement of brain function will
be made. EEG is a non-invasive recording of brain activity. Children will be randomly
assigned (i.e., like flipping a coin) to receive training or to a non-training group. The
training group will complete tasks designed to improve executive control presented over the
course of 5-10 1-hour sessions. All tasks are game-like and are presented on a computer with
child friendly graphics. A staff member will work with each child as he/she completes the
training activities. Children assigned to the non-training group will be invited to
participate in training at the end of the study if it is shown to improve executive control.
collect some preliminary information, five visits to Boston Children's Hospital (3 before
training and 2 about 6-8 weeks later), caregiver questionnaires, and an optional teacher
questionnaire packet. The visits will include activities designed to assess verbal and
nonverbal thinking ability; social skills and general interests; and specific tasks related
to cognitive and social problem solving. In addition, EEG measurement of brain function will
be made. EEG is a non-invasive recording of brain activity. Children will be randomly
assigned (i.e., like flipping a coin) to receive training or to a non-training group. The
training group will complete tasks designed to improve executive control presented over the
course of 5-10 1-hour sessions. All tasks are game-like and are presented on a computer with
child friendly graphics. A staff member will work with each child as he/she completes the
training activities. Children assigned to the non-training group will be invited to
participate in training at the end of the study if it is shown to improve executive control.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Children should be 7 to 11 years of age
- Children must have a parent/guardian who is available and willing to provide informed
consent and to respond to screening phone calls
- Children should have an existing diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder, which will
be confirmed using research measures and criteria
- Children must have general cognitive ability in the average range or above (above 80
using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-2 Full Scale IQ)
- Caregivers and children must be fluent in English
Exclusion Criteria:
- Children must not have a seizure disorder or be taking medication that alters EEG
processes (e.g. anti-seizure medications)
- Children must not have medical disorders or injuries affecting the brain or spinal
cord
- Children may not have experienced significant prenatal exposure to substances such as
tobacco, alcohol or street drugs
- Children may not have significant sensory or motor impairment that would limit the
ability to participate in table top or EEG testing, or make responding during computer
activities difficult
We found this trial at
1
site
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Principal Investigator: Susan Faja, PhD
Phone: 617-919-4108
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