Effects of Cognitive Remediation Therapy in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Study Protocol

Background Autism spectrum disorder is known to be associated with cognitive dysfunction. This impairment has an impact on academic difficulties and represents the main treatment target. Cognitive remediation therapy attempts to improve cognitive deficits by teaching information processing strategies through guided mental exercises. The aim of this study is to investigate whether cognitive remediation therapy, a new psychological treatment, improves cognitive function and, in turn school performance in children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods/Design Children meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for autism spectrum disorder, and following a regular school curriculum were recruited from clinical population at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department in Razi University Hospital Manouba - Tunisia. The intervention was individual cognitive remediation therapy delivered over a period of six months with one session per week. The main outcome measures were intellectual abilities, cognitive flexibility, working memory, clinical symptoms and school results. Patients showed significant improvement on intellectual abilities, phonemic fluency, animal category of semantic fluency, working memory, clinical symptoms and school results. Discussion This is one of the first trials to evaluate the effects of cognitive remediation on cognitive function in patients with autism spectrum disorder who encounter cognitive difficulties. Conclusion Cognitive Remediation Therapy was able to show significant positive effects on neurocognition, clinical symptoms and school results among children with autism spectrum disorder.