Targeting the Sensory Disturbance in Autism Spectrum Disorder
ConditionAutistic Disorders Spectrum
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age20-45
SponsorNational Taiwan University Hospital
About this trial
This study aims to establish a cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) based virtual exposure (VR) exposure program to train ASD adults coping with everyday sensory scenarios. Through the practice and training, the ASD participants may learn the strategy to deal with the common sensory scenarios and master the anxiety around the exposure. The anticipatory anxiety and the maladaptive behaviors may be decreased along with the process of desensitization, while the functional impairment related to sensory sensitivity can partly be recovered.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
young adult aged between 18 and 45 years who had a diagnosis of ASD from a licensed mental health or medical professional based on DSM-5;
has sensory and social problems as reported by the participant and the caregiver;
is motivated to participate in the treatment;
is fluent in Chinese;
Disqualifiers
A history of major mental illness (e.g., bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis) or neurological diseases;
visual impairment and/or hearing impairment that would preclude participation in the CBT-based VR exposure program
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
CBT-based VR exporsure program
BehavioralThis project seeks to establish a 8-week CBT-based VR exposure program to tackle sensory problems in ASD according to the theory of exposure and desensitization (both social and non-social scenarios) as well as identifying dysfunctional thought and searching for alternative thinking. In brief, this program aims to build up the core competence of the ASD individuals in facing the sensory environment, including (1) Relaxation skills (2) Ranking the fearful sensory situations (3) Anxiety coping strategy (3) Graded exposure (4) Cognitive appraisal and restructuring: identifying the dysfunctional thought when facing the social situations and figuring out alternative thinking.
Treatment groups
90 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groupsGroup A: VR-GroupExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: CBT-GROUPExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group C: Control groupNo intervention 0 interventions
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
The change of heart rate
The change of heart rate is related to the activation level of sympathetic nervous system, which can describe the change on anxiety level.
Time frame
Two months, first time in the first week and second time in the last week.Sponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov