Establish the Couple Intervention Program for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

May 23, 2023 updated by: National Taiwan University Hospital
The development of adult intimate relationships and the transition into couplehood are part of most people's life cycles, but these transitions become very challenging for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in as much as social interactions, emotional communication, and reciprocity, which are essential for interpersonal relationships, are made more difficult due to the condition itself. In the Adult ASD Clinic of National Taiwan University Hospital, we observe that the wives of the ASD husband suffer from long-term frustration, loneliness and helplessness, and are frequently experience anxiety and depression, that in turns changes the family's function and impacts on children's mental health. To date, there are limited intervention models focusing on couple therapy for ASD adults (or neurodiverse couple). Given the strong needs of clinical service, this study aims to identify the common problems of the ASD couples and develop a program to improve their partner relationships.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Recruiting
        • National Taiwan University Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • one person of each couple has either Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis or the autism spectrum quotient scoring above or equal to 26
  • able to communicate in Chinese
  • Wechsler Intelligence scoring above 70

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Psychiatric disorder (i.e. schizophrenia, substance abuse)
  • unable to communication (i.e. visual or auditory impairment)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ASD couple
Either one of the couple has ASD diagnosis, including couples who are married or in romantic relationship.
Behavioral: Couple group therapy
  1. Introduction of "I" statements
  2. Focus of each conversation
  3. Emotion acknowledgement
  4. Self-assurance and positive feedback
  5. teamwork and cooperation
  6. Reflection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS
Time Frame: 6 weeks
range from 0 to 8 for each item. Higher the score, worse the symptoms
6 weeks
Autism Spectrum Quotient
Time Frame: 6 weeks
range from 0 to 3 for each item, total score of 50. Higher the score, wrose the related symptoms.
6 weeks
Empathy Quotient
Time Frame: 6 weeks
range from 0 to 3 for each item, total score of 40. Higher the score, worse the empathy
6 weeks
Social Responsiveness Scale, SRS
Time Frame: 6 weeks
65 questions, range from 1 to 5. Higher the score, worse the symptom
6 weeks
Quality of socialization questionnaire, QSQ
Time Frame: 6 weeks
selected part of the questionnaire to examine the quality of interaction. Higher the score, better the socialization
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 14, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 23, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

May 25, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 25, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 23, 2023

Last Verified

August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 202106091RINC

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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