Improving Working Memory of Children With Autism

NCT04209452 | Terminated

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00010960
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 15
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

Existing findings suggest that challenges in working memory (WM) of children with autism are common (Habib, Pollick, Melville, \& 2019). The WM malfunction can last across the lifespan and individuals with autism exhibit large WM impairments in both phonological and visuospatial domains (Habib, Harris, Pollick \& Melville, 2019). Despite the well-documented effects of WM impairments, little research has been dedicated to strategies for improving the working memory of children with autism. Previous research found that individuals who verbally repeat a previously presented stimulus (i.e., rehearsal) tended to perform better than those who do not rehearse (Bebko, Rhee, Ncube, \& Dahary, 2017; Joseph, Steele, Meyer, \& Tager-Flusberg, 2005). In addition, among studies that investigated WM in children with autism, Baltruschat et al (2011a; 2011; 2012) conduct studies using positive reinforcement. Their results reveal that the positive reinforcement appeared to have produced better working memory. The present study intends to investigate if training children with autism to use rehearsal strategy would improve their working memory. In addition, the investigators are also interested to see if reinforcement is a critical component that may provide additive effects beyond the effects of rehearsal. The investigators intend to randomly assign children to four different conditions: control, rehearsal, reinforcement, and rehearsal + reinforcement conditions. The results of this study should provide empirical evidence for practitioners to improve WM in children with autism.

Conditions

Autism

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in percent recall

  Participants will hear a sequence of digits or words (range from 1 to 9 stimuli) and then will be asked to recall the serial order after a delay (e.g., 9, 12, or 15 s). Percent correct recall of serial order will be calculated for all sequences as well as for each sequence size and delay. Change of percent recall from before, during, and after the intervention will be measured.

  Before, during, and up to 2 weeks after intervention.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in percent strategy used.

  During the intervention, and up to 2 weeks after intervention.

Study Arms (4)

Control

NO INTERVENTION

No intervention will be provided for participants enrolled in the control group.

Rehearsal

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive instruction on rehearsal strategy.

Behavioral: Rehearsal strategy

Reinforcement

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive reinforcement for correct recall.

Behavioral: Reinforcement

Rehearsal + Reinforcement

EXPERIMENTAL

The participants in this group will receive instruction on rehearsal strategy and reinforcement for correct recall.

Behavioral: Rehearsal strategy and reinforcement

Interventions

Rehearsal strategy BEHAVIORAL

Teaching children to cumulatively rehearse numbers as they are being said.

Rehearsal

Reinforcement BEHAVIORAL

Providing reinforcement for correct recall after a delay.

Reinforcement

Rehearsal strategy and reinforcement BEHAVIORAL

Teaching children to cumulatively rehearse numbers as they are being said, AND providing reinforcement for correct recall after a delay.

Rehearsal + Reinforcement

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 4 Years - 8 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• have a diagnosis of autism
• have an echoic repertoire

You may not qualify if:

• problem behavior or noncompliance

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Arizona State University: lead
• Shanghai Xuhui Clover Children Healthy Garden: collaborator
• Jingdezhen Kindkids Autism Rehabilitation and Training Center: collaborator
• Sunshine Special Education Center: collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Jingdezhen Kindkids Autism Rehabilitation and Training Center

Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, China

Location

Sunshine Special Education Center

Taizhou, Zhejiang, China

Location

Shanghai Xuhui Clover Children Healthy Garden

Shanghai, China

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Habib A, Harris L, Pollick F, Melville C. A meta-analysis of working memory in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. PLoS One. 2019 Apr 30;14(4):e0216198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216198. eCollection 2019.

  PMID: 31039192 BACKGROUND

• Joseph RM, Steele SD, Meyer E, Tager-Flusberg H. Self-ordered pointing in children with autism: failure to use verbal mediation in the service of working memory? Neuropsychologia. 2005;43(10):1400-11. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.01.010. Epub 2005 Feb 17.

  PMID: 15989932 BACKGROUND

• Baltruschat L, Hasselhorn M, Tarbox J, Dixon D R, Najdowski AC, Mullins R D, Gould, ER. Addressing working memory in children with autism through behavioral intervention. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2011;5(1): 267-76. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2010.04.008

  BACKGROUND

• Bebko JM, Rhee T, Ncube BL, Dahary H. Effectiveness and Retention of Teaching Memory Strategy Use to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Canadian Journal of School Psychology. 2017;32(3-4): 244-64. doi: 10.1177/0829573517699332

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autistic Disorder

Interventions

Reinforcement Machine Learning

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Algorithms; Mathematical Concepts

Study Officials

• Chengan Yuan, PhD

  Arizona State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Erin Rotheram-Fuller, PhD

  Arizona State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 9, 2019
• First Posted: December 24, 2019
• Study Start: January 15, 2020
• Primary Completion: November 10, 2020
• Study Completion: November 10, 2020
• Last Updated: November 12, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (3)