Improving Social Cognition for Adults With ASD by the Serious Game JeStiMulE Versus Controls
Condition: Autistic Disorder
MeSH terms: Autistic Disorder
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The serious game "JeStiMulE" (Educational Game for Multisensory Stimulation of Children with
      developmental disorders), developed by the Autism Resources Center of Nice, was created to
      teach social cognition including emotion recognition in context, for children and adolescents
      with autism. In a previous study, JeStiMulE has demonstrated efficacy in a population of
      young people aged 6-17 years old with high and low levels of autism.

      According to the recommendations of the 2011 HAS, disorders of social interactions are the
      most persistent troubles of the autistic triad in life.

      It seems essential to us to be able to offer young adults with autism, rehabilitation methods
      adapted to their trouble, and to observe whether JeStiMulE could be one of them.

      This study researches the effectiveness of the serious game JeStiMulE in the improvement
      social cognition for adults with autism versus controls.

      The main goal is:

      - Comparing the improvement in social cognition among adults with autism using the serious
      game JeStiMulE or not.

      Two groups will be formed: a first one of fifteen adults with a diagnosis of autism
      objectified, this group will use JeStiMulE and will be compared to a control group of adults
      with autism, using another video game, not aimed to improve social cognition.

      The objective of JeStiMulE players will be ending the game after a learning period and two
      playing periods (with emotional words and idioms, including three modules each). The groups
      will be matched with their nonverbal IQ through Raven matrices and visual memory tasks
      (WAIS).

      The control group will also be stimulated through a video game, not specialized in improving
      social cognition.

      The primary outcome will be assessed by the emotion recognition at the FEEST of Ekman test:
      by the number of emotions recognized on faces, compared to the number of emotion presented
      through this test.

      The secondary outcomes will be:

        -  The rest of social cognition improvement by several tests (the theory of mind with the
           score of the Tom-15, the intention with the score Sarfati cartoons, empathy with a
           self-administered questionnaire: EQ / AQ).

        -  The impact on the quality of life, verbal fluency of emotional words, and the feedback
           from JeStiMulE players will also be seen as a secondary outcome.
    

Detailed description: 
      A lot of studies found a deficit in social cognition for individuals with autism, especially
      in emotions recognition, more precisely the negative emotions. These studies refer to the
      population of adults with high-functioning autism, but few reports results for low levels.

      The serious game "JeStiMulE" (Educational Game for Multisensory Stimulation of Children with
      developmental disorders), developed by the Autism Resources Center of Nice, was created to
      teach social cognition including emotion recognition in context, for children and adolescents
      with autism, by developing a fun game environment; so that children and adolescents with
      autism spectrum disorder can experience virtual reality in reciprocal social interactions
      (emotions recognition, emotional gestures, communication, ...). In a previous study,
      JeStiMulE has demonstrated its efficacy in a population of young people aged 6-17 years old
      with high and low levels of autism.

      According to the recommendations of the 2011 HAS, disorders of social interactions are the
      most persistent troubles of the autistic triad in life. But, early stimulation offered by
      educational provision and care has a positive influence on the development of these
      disorders.

      It seems essential to us to be able to offer young adults with autism, rehabilitation methods
      adapted to their trouble, and to observe whether JeStiMulE could be one of them.

      This study researches the effectiveness of the serious game JeStiMulE in the improvement of
      social cognition for adults with autism versus controls.

      The main goal is:

      - Comparing the improvement in social cognition among adults with autism using the serious
      game JeStiMulE or not.

      Two groups will be formed: a first group of fifteen adults with a diagnosis of autism
      objectified. This group will use JeStiMulE and will be compared to a control group of fifteen
      adults with autism, using another video game, not aimed to improve social cognition.

      The objective of JeStiMulE players will be ending the game after a learning period and two
      playing periods (with emotional words and idioms, which include three modules each). The
      session ends when the module is completed, which is approximately one hour per module, or 6
      sessions of play. The groups will be matched with their nonverbal IQ through Raven matrices
      and visual memory tasks (WAIS).

      The control group will also be stimulated through a video game, not specialized in improving
      social cognition.

      The primary outcome will be assessed by the emotion recognition at the FEEST of Ekman test:
      by the number of emotions recognized on faces, compared to the number of emotion presented
      through this test.

      The secondary outcomes will be:

      - The rest of social cognition improvement by several tests (the theory of mind with the
      score of the Tom-15, the intention with the score of the Sarfati BD, empathy with a
      self-administered questionnaire: EQ / AQ).

      All these elements will be tested before and after the playing session to assess improvement
      of social cognition.

      - The impact on the quality of life, verbal fluency of emotional words, and the feedback from
      JeStiMulE players will also be seen as a secondary outcome.
    

Intervention name(s): serious game JeStiMulE; control video game
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The objective of JeStiMulE players will be ending the game after a learning period and two playing periods (with emotional words and idioms, which include three modules each). The session ends when the module is completed, which is approximately one hour per module, or 6 sessions of play.; The patients will play 6 sessions of one hour with the control video game
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: Autistic Disorder