The SMART Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital is an interdisciplinary social skills group that teaches children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ages 2-12 the fundamental social skills necessary to build and maintain relationships. The manualized curriculum addresses skills such as joint attention, eye contact, play, and peer engagement. Currently individual goals are set for each child who participates and this is documented in the daily treatment note. In order to research group outcomes, the investigators will use parent questionnaires (an addition to current clinical practices) to measure changes in behavior after each 12 week session for up to one year of treatment. The investigators hypothesize that maladaptive behaviors will decrease and adaptive behaviors will increase in children with ASD after participation in the SMART program.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
37
The SMART Program is an interdisciplinary program that teaches children ages 2-12.5 the fundamental skills necessary to build and maintain relationships. Sessions last for 12 weeks at a time and address skills such as: tolerance for sitting and structure, joint attention, eye contact, transitions between activities, participation in group activities, communication skills, and play skills.
Nationwide Children's Hospital Hilliard Close to Home
Hilliard, Ohio, United States
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory (PDDBI)
Parent-report questionnaire.
Time frame: Upon enrollment in the study (baseline), day 1 of treatment, and end of treatment for each 12 week session (up to 4 sessions)
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