PRT for Adolescents With High Functioning Autism

Description

The purpose of this study is to identify improvement in behavioral and social function and changes in the brain following Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents in highly verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Conditions

Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder High-Functioning, Developmental Disability, Child Development, Behavior, Child, Behavior, Social

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Study Overview

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Study Details

Study overview

The purpose of this study is to identify improvement in behavioral and social function and changes in the brain following Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) for Adolescents in highly verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Pivotal Response Treatment for Adolescents With High Functioning Autism Intervention Study

PRT for Adolescents With High Functioning Autism

Condition
Autism
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Palo Alto

Stanford Research Park, Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, higher functioning/low support needs
  • * Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Participants with a Full Scale IQ \> 80 on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II)
  • * Right-handed
  • * No metal in their body/unremovable metal on their body (i.e., braces)
  • * First language is English
  • * Must live in the San Francisco Bay Area
  • * Able and willing to receive intervention weekly for 9 weeks
  • * Adolescent is interested in improving their social skills
  • * MRI Compatibility: No major contraindication for MRI.
  • * Diagnosis of ASD using ADOS-2 and ADI-R.
  • * No evidence of a genetic, metabolic, or infectious etiology for their autism.
  • * Primary diagnosis of ASD
  • * No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate neonatal period.
  • * Stable treatment (e.g., ABA), speech therapy, school placement, psychotropic medication(s) or biomedical intervention(s) for at least 1 month prior to baseline measurements with no anticipated changes during study participation.
  • * Score of at least 50% or below on at least 4 out of the 9 social target areas in the SLO (administered during pre-measures)
  • * No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate neonatal period.
  • * History of claustrophobia, previous head injury, serious neurological or medical illness, birth weight less than 4 lb. and/or gestational age \< 34 weeks
  • * Left-handed
  • * Braces or any metal in their body

Ages Eligible for Study

11 Years to 14 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

Stanford University,

Dani A Abrams, Ph.D., PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Stanford University

Study Record Dates

2026-08-31