Sensorimotor Affect Relationship-based Therapy (SMART) for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Ages 2-12

Sensorimotor Affect Relationship-based Therapy (SMART) for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Ages 2-12

The SMART Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital is an interdisciplinary social skills group that teaches children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ages 2-12 the fundamental social skills necessary to build and maintain relationships. The manualized curriculum addresses skills such as joint attention, eye contact, play, and peer engagement. Currently individual goals are set for each child who participates and this is documented in the daily treatment note. In order to research group outcomes, the investigators will use parent questionnaires (an addition to current clinical practices) to measure changes in behavior after each 12 week session for up to one year of treatment. The investigators hypothesize that maladaptive behaviors will decrease and adaptive behaviors will increase in children with ASD after participation in the SMART program.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ages 2 to 12.5
• Diagnosis of ASD OR who meet a minimum ASD cutoff score on a screening questionnaire (SCQ or ASQ:SE, depending on age)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-English speaking
• Uncorrected vision disorder
• Moderate to severe hearing loss
• Non-ambulatory
• Previous participation in a SMART group
• Accompaniment by aide
• Extreme behavioral disorder