An interventional study of Reciprocal Imitation Training (Therapist-Delivered) and Reciprocal Imitation Training (Therapist + Parent Delivered) in Autism Spectrum Disorder, sponsored by Ohio State University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 24 Months to 60 Months. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-24.
Sponsored by Ohio State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The purpose of this study is to examine whether adding a parent education component to an existing intervention (Reciprocal Imitation Training) results in improved outcomes for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT) is a behavioral intervention designed to improve spontaneous imitation skills in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Previous research suggests that it can be effective when used by trained therapists, teachers, siblings, and parents of children with ASD. However, it is unclear to what extent training parents to use RIT strategies in the home environment may enhance outcomes, compared to having therapists implement RIT individually with the child. The study will compare two different versions of RIT for young children with ASD: (1) two 60-minute weekly sessions of therapist-implemented RIT and (2) one weekly 60-minute session of therapist-implemented RIT and one weekly 60-minute session of parent education about using RIT in the home environment. The investigators will examine child and family outcomes between these two intervention types. Outcomes examined will include: (1) spontaneous and prompted imitation skills in the child with ASD, (2) social communication skills in the child with ASD, (3) parent stress, and (4) parent and child behaviors during parent-child play interactions.
1,727 studies on the registry are indexed under Autism Spectrum Disorder; 504 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 18 is below the median of 52 across 1,371 interventional studies indexed under Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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Of its 60 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 45 (75%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Children in the therapist-delivered condition will receive two, 60-minute long sessions of Reciprocal Imitation Training each week for ten consecutive weeks. These sessions will be delivered by trained graduate, undergraduate, and post-graduate research staff. Parents will be permitted to observe sessions via live video, but will not be directly involved in intervention.
Behavioral: Reciprocal Imitation Training (Therapist-Delivered)
Children in the parent + therapist-delivered condition will receive one, 60-minute long session of Reciprocal Imitation Training each week for ten consecutive weeks. These sessions will be delivered by trained graduate, undergraduate, and post-graduate research staff. During the same period of time, parents/guardians of children will receive one, 60-minute long parent education session per week with graduate and post-graduate research staff, aimed at teaching parents to implement Reciprocal Imitation Training at home with the child.
Behavioral: Reciprocal Imitation Training (Therapist + Parent Delivered)
Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention aimed at improving social imitation skills.
Also known as: RIT
Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention aimed at improving social imitation skills, using a combination of therapist-delivered intervention and parent training to deliver intervention in the home setting.
Also known as: RIT
Unstructured Imitation Assessment (UIA)
The Unstructured Imitation Assessment (UIA) is a semi-structured, standardized test of imitation skills containing 10 object imitation and 10 gesture imitation tasks (Ingersoll \& Meyer, 2011).
Time frame: Change from baseline to 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention)
Percentage of parent acts imitated during Parent-Child Play Interaction
Percentage of parent play acts and meaningful gestures imitated by the child during a 10-minute unstructured play interaction with parent
Time frame: Change from baseline to 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention)
Parenting Stress Index, 4th Edition
Time frame: Change from baseline to 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention)
Motor Imitation Scales
Time frame: 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention), 3 months post-treatment, 6 months post-treatment
Early Social Communication Scales
Time frame: 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention), 3 months post-treatment, 6 months post-treatment
Proportion of time spent jointly engaged during Parent-Child Play Interaction
Proportion of time spent in joint engagement state (joint focus on same activity) during a 10-minute unstructured play interaction with parent
Time frame: Change from baseline to 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention)
Modified Behavior Intervention Rating Scale
Time frame: 10 weeks (immediately post-intervention)
Plan to share: No
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This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Ohio State University