Establish the Couple Intervention Program for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Couple group therapy.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder. Basic parameters: 20 years — 60 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Taiwan
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
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.
Interventions
- 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
Primary outcome measures
- The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Autism Spectrum Quotient [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Empathy Quotient [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Social Responsiveness Scale, SRS [Time frame: 6 weeks]
- Quality of socialization questionnaire, QSQ [Time frame: 6 weeks]
Eligibility criteria
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)
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Taiwan · 1 center
- National Taiwan University Hospital — Taipei
Identifiers
NCT: NCT05875376 · 202106091RINC