Clinical trial NCT00378157: Joint Attention Intervention and Young Children With Autism
Official title: Effectiveness of Joint Attention Intervention in Young Children With Autism - a Randomized Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE1
PHASE2
Conditions: Autism
Keywords: autism
joint attention
intervention
joint engagement
language
Lead sponsor: Oslo University Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
First posted: 2006-09-19
Enrollment: 61
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 24
Maximum age (years): 60
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention aimed to increase joint attention in 2-4 year old children with autism. The study will be conducted in mainstream preschools in Norway. The intervention will be implemented by preschool teachers and paraprofessionals supervised by trained counselors.

Detailed description: Young children with autism experience severe deficit in joint attention skills (e.g. pointing to objects, showing, following another person's gaze, responding to invitations to social interaction). Ability to initiate and respond to joint attention is linked to children's later language abilities. As a mean to improve language outcome in children with autism, it is important to target joint attention in early intervention programs.

This study investigates the effectiveness of a joint attention intervention. Sixty 2-4 year old children with autism will be randomized to an intervention group or a control group. Children in both groups will continue their ordinary preschool program. However, the children in the intervention group will also participate in 80 joint attention intervention sessions. The sessions (20 minutes each) will be conducted twice a day for 8 weeks by preschool teachers or paraprofessionals working in the preschools. Before starting the intervention preschool teachers and paraprofessionals will be taught how to teach joint attention skills and how to initiate and maintain episodes of joint engagement. During the course of intervention they will be supervised by trained counselors.

Outcome measures will include joint attention skills, language skills and joint engagement. Children will be assessed at baseline, after 10 weeks and at follow up 6 months and 1 year after the end of the intervention. The measures are based on direct testing of the children, video observations and questionnaires to parent and professionals.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* diagnosis of autism
* age 2-4 year old

Exclusion Criteria:

* severe mental retardation
* severe clinical CNS disorders

Primary outcomes:
measure: childrens score on measures of joint attention
timeFrame: pre, post, follow up 6 months and 1 year
Secondary outcomes:
measure: score on measures of joint engagement -child and mother
timeFrame: pre, post, follow up 6 months and 1 year
measure: childrens score on measures of language
timeFrame: pre and follow up 1 year
measure: parents and service providers perception of the intervention
timeFrame: post, follow up 6 months and 1 year
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Oslo
country: Norway
facility: Ullevaal University Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Ullevaal University Hospital
name: Eili Sponheim, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
affiliation: University of Oslo (UiO)
name: Lars Smith, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
affiliation: University of Oslo (UiO)
name: Berit Grøholt, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
affiliation: Ullevaal University Hospital and Centre for Child and Adolecent Mental Health (R-BUP)
name: Anett Kaale, PhD student
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Kaale A, Fagerland MW, Martinsen EW, Smith L. Preschool-based social communication treatment for children with autism: 12-month follow-up of a randomized trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014 Feb;53(2):188-98. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.09.019. Epub 2013 Oct 17.
citation: Kaale A, Smith L, Sponheim E. A randomized controlled trial of preschool-based joint attention intervention for children with autism. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2012 Jan;53(1):97-105. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02450.x. Epub 2011 Aug 30.