This study will examine whether brain stimulation paired with social skills learning can help teenage boys with autism learn how to make and keep friends. Brain stimulation can enhance learning in some people. This study involves enrolling in a 14-week training program where teenage boys with autism interact in small groups and learn social skills. During the 14-week program participants will receive active brain stimulation, or non-active stimulation (placebo). Before and after this training, MRI scans will be taken to see whether the training with active brain stimulation made a different in brain activation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
25
14 weekly social skills training sessions for all participants
Medical Univeristy of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge (TASSK)
Change in TASSK raw scores from pre- to post-treatment, i.e., baseline to 14-weeks (Post minus pre-treatment: positive scores indicate improvement). Assessment scores can range from 0 to 26, 0 being the lowest possible score and 26 being the highest.
Time frame: Baseline to 14-weeks
Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS)
Change in SRS raw scores from pre- to post-treatment, i.e., baseline to 14-weeks (Pre minus post-treatment: positive scores indicate improvement). Raw scores range from 0 to 195, with higher scores indicating greater severity of symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline to 14 weeks
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