The overall goal is to gain insight in the effects of Animal Assisted Interventions in adults with autism spectrum disorder.This object is divided into three main research quenstions:Psychological parameters: What is the effect AAI on self-reported…
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Developmental disorders NEC
Synonym
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
Self reports on perceived stress: Scores on the PSS
Overal psycholoical distress: scores on the SCL-90-R
Self confidence rates: Scores on the RSES
Characteristics of ASD: Scores on the SRS-A
Physiological stress: Salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase and heart rate
variability
Secondary outcome
Qualitative observations of social behavior: the social behavior list
Explorative: For the intervention group: Physiological stress: Salivary
cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase and heart rate variability at session 5
Proces evaluation: Questions after AAI is completed
Background summary
Autismspectrumdisorder (ASD) is a lifelong disorder that can't be cured.
However, people with ASD often experience many problems in daily life. The most
common symptoms are anxiety and depression. In addition, they often suffer from
chronic stress. This may lead to secondary problems such as a low self esteem,
sleeping problems and physical problems. There are only two type of treatments
scientifically investigated on their effectiveness in reducing anxiety and
depression in adults with ASD, cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness.
Both show positive results in reducing depressive symptoms. However, there are
also disadvantages reported for people with ASD, so it is not effective for all
adults with ASD. Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) is known to have a
positive effect on improving social skills, increasing self confidence, and
reducing anxiety and stress. This effect has also been demonstrated in children
with ASD. This type of intervening however, has not been studied in adults with
ASD. Due to the positive results in other treatment groups and in children with
ASD, we expect this intervention to be effective on reducing common problems in
ASD. For this purpose, the effectiveness of AAI on adults with ASD is studied
in this project to gain insight in the effects of AAI. In addition to the use
of self-reports, physiological stress measures and observations will be
collected as dependent variables in this study.
Study objective
The overall goal is to gain insight in the effects of Animal Assisted
Interventions in adults with autism spectrum disorder.
This object is divided into three main research quenstions:
Psychological parameters:
What is the effect AAI on self-reported psychological stress, overall distress
and self-confidence?
Biological parameters:
What is the effect of AAI on physiological parameters (salivary cortisol,
salivary a-amylase and heart reate variability)?
Social parameters:
What is the effect of AAI on social communicative skills?
Study design
The research is based on a randomized controlled trial with six groups of 6
participants in the intervention and six groups of 6 participants in the
waitinglist control group. Participants will be randomly assigned to the
intervention or waiting list control group at six different timeframes.
The protocol for the intervention group:
Week 0: Baseline measurement (M0) with self-reports and physiological
measurements
Week 1-10: 10 weekly intervention, with physiological measurements during
session 5 and obervaties during session 1, 5 and 10
Week 10: Second measurement (M1), with and physiological measurements
Week 20: Follow-up measurement (M2), with and physiological measurements
The protocol for the waiting list control:
Week 0: Baseline measurement (M0), self-reports and physiological measurements
Week 10: Second measurement (M1), self-reports and physiological measurements
Week 20: Follow-up measurement (M2), self-reports and physiological
measurements
Intervention
The intervention consists of 10 weekly Animal Assisted Intervention sessions.
Each intervention session has a duration of one hour. A therapist who is
skilled both on social work and working with canines, will lead the sessions.
Before the first session starts, a psychologist makes a treatment plan together
with the participant, with concrete goals for the treatment. The intervention
has a fixed structure, which is described in a protocol, in order to keep the
intervention as identical as possible among participants. During the
intervention, techniques are used from the behavioral learning theory and
solution-focused therapy. The function of the therapydog is, to practice the
techniques with the participant and for visualization of the techniques.
Study burden and risks
Risk: Not applicable
Estimation of burdening:
Intervention group: 10x 1 hour + 1 hour baseline measurement (M0) + 2x
measurements after intervention (M1 + M2) for 1 hour each = 13 hours maximum
Waiting list control group: 3 measurements of 1 hour each =3 hours maximum
Duration of the Protocol: 20 weeks
Joannes Zwijsenlaan 123
Oss 5342 BT
NL
Joannes Zwijsenlaan 123
Oss 5342 BT
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
A primary diagnosis within the autism spectrum is required for participation in the study. The participants must be diagnosed through, a semi-structured interview based on the DSM-V criteria and the ADI-R
Their age is between 18-60. The WAIS-III or WAIS-IV score > 80. Participants suffer from stress (PSS > 20), and overal psychological distress (SCL-90 > 133).
Exclusion criteria
Psychosis and suicide risk
When participants are allergic to dogs, when they have fear of dogs or when they can expres serious aggression towards the dog.
Aversion towards dogs
Use of medicin that involves the ingredient cortison.
Change in medication or treatment
Active psychosocial treatment
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL48974.091.14 |