Social Groups for Australian Children on the Autism Spectrum

NCT04024111 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: HRE2017-0245-34
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 84
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the KONTAKT social skills group training in Australian children on the autism spectrum compared to an active control group which is a group Art class

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Keywords

Social groups; Active contol group; Children; Australian

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)

  The GOAL Attainment Scale will be used to measure if the participants have achieved the goals they have set for the program. Using the scale the children's primary outcome. Using the scale the participants personally meaningful social goals will be specified, and a behavioural expectation that ranges from the worst to the best possible outcome will be listed for each goal. This allows qualitative data to be quantified in relation to the success of the participant in achieving expectations of change. The achievement of these goals will be scored via the GAS scoring system of "-2" showing the participant's current level of performance, "-1" less than expected, "0" the expected progress, and "+1" and "+2" indicative of progress above the expected level

  Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)

• Change in Social Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ)

  Social Skills Assessment Questionnaire (SSAQ), is a 23-item parent proxy questionnaire measuring the change in a child's social skills abilities. the measure is rated on a 3-point Likert scale from "worse than peers" to "Better than peers". Higher total scores show better outcome. This measure has been used with the ASD population before.

  Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Change in the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC)

  Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)

• Change in the Negative Incidents and Effects of Psychological Treatment (NEQ)

  Post-test (week 20)

• Change in the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D)

  Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)

• Change in Treatment Inventory of Costs in Patients (TIC-P)

  Baseline (week 0), Post-test (week 20) and follow up (week 36) and long follow up (74 weeks)

• Treatment Satisfaction Scale

  Post-test (week 20)

Study Arms (2)

KONTAKT(c)

EXPERIMENTAL

A social skills group training

Behavioral: KONTAKT(c)

Art group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

A social Art group

Other: Art group

Interventions

KONTAKT(c) BEHAVIORAL

KONTAKT is a manualized Social skills group training program designed for children and adolescents on the Autism Spectrum aimed at improving communication, social interaction skills, the severity of ASD symptoms, and the ability to empathise and adapt in a group setting. The KONTAKT participants (4-8 participants) meet face to face weekly for 16 weeks for 75 minutes facilitated by two health professionals with experience of running groups for autistic children

KONTAKT(c)

Art group OTHER

Art program, a manualized Art group delivered in a social format, has been designed for children on the Autism Spectrum delivered by health professionals with experience of running social groups for Autistic children. The Art program's participants (4-8 participants) meet face to face weekly for 16 weeks for 75 minutes.

Art group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 8 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Individuals aged 8 to 12
• Clinical consensus diagnosis of ASD as defined by DSM-5 and confirmed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation schedule-2
• IQ scores \> 70 as measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence - Second Edition (WASI-II)

You may not qualify if:

• Existing prior comorbid externalizing behaviours as assessed by the Childhood Behaviour Checklist (CBCL).
• Clinically assessed self-injurious behaviour • Low intrinsic motivation to participate in a social skills training group
• Insufficient English language skills

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Curtin University: lead
• Autism Association of Western Australia: collaborator
• Stan Perron charitable trust: collaborator
• Karolinska Institutet: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Curtin University

Bentley, Western Australia, 6102, Australia

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Hayden-Evans M, Afsharnejad B, Lee EAL, Milbourn B, Picen T, Johnson M, Bolte S, Girdler S. "I made friends a lot more easily": children and families' experiences of social group programs for children on the autism spectrum. BMC Pediatr. 2025 May 3;25(1):353. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05686-6.

  PMID: 40316953 DERIVED

• Afsharnejad B, Lee EAL, Hayden-Evans M, Black MH, Alach T, Fridell A, Coco C, Johnson M, Bolte S, Girdler S. Adaptation and Feasibility of KONTAKT Social Skills Toolbox Group Program for Australian Autistic Children. Scand J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Psychol. 2024 Dec 5;12(1):20240011. doi: 10.2478/sjcapp-2024-0011. eCollection 2024 Jan.

  PMID: 39649127 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The Assessor is blind to the participant's allocation to the intervention and active control group and the participants and carers are told they are participating in different social groups
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: The participants will be randomly allocated into an intervention group (KONTAKT Australia) and an active control group (Social Art group).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 12, 2019
• First Posted: July 18, 2019
• Study Start: December 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2023
• Study Completion: October 1, 2023
• Last Updated: February 9, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

AU (1)