An interventional study of Non-invasive Neuromodulation and Placebo Non-invasive Neuromodulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder, sponsored by University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Completed at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 2 Years to 18 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-22.
Sponsored by University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The term or definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) defines a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder in which deficits in communication and social interaction, altered sensorimotor behaviours, repetitive, restricted and stereotyped interests and activities are observed.
One of the disorders most frequently associated with ASD, and which most affects the quality of life of the child and his or her family, is sleep disorders; it is estimated that between 50 and 80 percent of children with ASD present this alteration and generally continue to suffer from it in adolescence and adulthood; It has also been observed that there is a correlation between sleep problems and an increase in aggressive behaviour, social and emotional deficits and deficits in activities of daily living, which severely affects the child and his or her close family environment; they become emotionally destabilised in a notorious way, and this has a negative impact on their work and productive environment.
The microcurrents generated by the non-invasive neuromodulation device introduce, by means of a non-invasive technique (surface electrodes), electrical energy to normalise the nervous stimulus. This makes it an excellent complementary treatment to the activity of rehabilitation treatment. Its effects are achieved by establishing several input nerve pathways corresponding to the body's dermis, through which the signals are intellectualised in time-space. These signals are the basis for achieving normalisation of the nerve impulse by means of microcurrents.
The main objective will be to test the influence of surface neuromodulation applied NESA on sleep disturbances in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and how this is related to disruptive behaviours and quality of life in the family environment.
It is estimated to take 8 months from the design, management and development of the project, and does not have sources of funding.
1,727 studies on the registry are indexed under Autism Spectrum Disorder; 504 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 40 is below the median of 52 across 1,371 interventional studies indexed under Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Browse Autism Spectrum Disorder studies →University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the lead sponsor of 22 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Intervention with electrical stimulation: application of 6 electrodes per extremity and an adhesive electrode at C7 level.
Device: Non-invasive Neuromodulation
Intervention with electrical stimulation: application of 6 electrodes per extremity and an adhesive electrode at C7 level.
Device: Placebo Non-invasive Neuromodulation
Patients receive non-invasive neurostimulation through the Nesa device
The same protocol described for the experimental group will be applied, but electrical stimulation device which will be previously manipulated and tested with an oscilloscope so that they do not emit electrical currents.
Change in sleep quality with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC)
The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) will be used. The SDSC is a 26-item scale developed to assess the presence of sleep difficulties in children within the previous six months. The measure is completed by the parent of the child and takes approximately 5-10 min to complete. Item 1 measures the child's average hours of sleep, from 1 ('9 - 11 h') to 5 ('less than 5 h').
Time frame: Measurement of change: before treatment (baseline), at two months (end of treatment).
Measuring sleep habits with the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire scale
Each scored question is rated on a 3-point scale as occurring "usually" (i.e., 5-7 times within the past week), "sometimes" (i.e., 2-4 times within the past week), or "rarely" (i.e., never or 1 time within the past week).
Time frame: Measurement of change: before treatment (baseline), at two months (end of treatment).
Change in parent´s sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
The investigators want to see if there are improvements in the quality, efficiency, and quantity of sleep. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) will be combined to report changes in the patient's sleep quality. Each of the sleep components yields a score ranging from 0 to 3, with 3 indicating the greatest dysfunction. The sleep component scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 21 with the higher total score (referred to as global score) indicating worse sleep quality. Adding up the average scores of the seven factors gives a global PSQI score from 0 to 21, with 0-4 indicating "good" sleep and 5-21 indicating "poor" sleep
Time frame: Measurement of change: before treatment (baseline), at two months (end of treatment).
Changes to the Register of Disruptive Behaviour Scores with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC-C)
The Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC-C) is a 58-item rating scale derived by factor analysis, and its five subscales are labelled as follows: I- Irritability (15 items); II- inactivity-isolation (16 items); III- stereotypies (7 items); IV- Hyperactivity, non-compliance (16 items) and V- inappropriate language (4 items). The ABC-C is easy to use, it is completed by an informant such as a teacher, therapist, monitor, parent or other adult who has regular contact with the patient. Each behavioural item is rated on a four-point scale from 0 (not a problem) to 3 (problem is severe).
Time frame: Measurement of change: before treatment (baseline), at two months (end of treatment).
Change in the stress level of parents with the Change in the stress level of parents
The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) is one of the most commonly used measures of parenting stress both in clinical and research contexts. The PSI-SF is a 36-item, self-report measure with three subscales: Parental Distress (PD), Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction (PCDI), and Difficult Child (DC). To compute the parental stress score, items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, and 18 should be reverse scored as follows: (1=5) (2=4) (3=3) (4=2) (5=1). The item scores are then summed. Parental stress scores range from 18 to 90, with lower scores indicating lower levels of parental stress.
Time frame: Measurement of change: before treatment (baseline), at two months (end of treatment).
Change in parental satisfaction with the Parent Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ - FS)
The 19-item PSQ assesses parents' cognitions and perceptions regarding the degree and kind of support they provide to their child following the discovery of sexual abuse. The measure yields a total score and scores on Support and Blame subscales
Time frame: Measurement of change: before treatment (baseline), at two months (end of treatment).
Recording of adverse phenomena
The responses experienced by the participant will be observed during the session. As the procedure is sensory imperceptible and easy to handle, it will allow the participant to carry out activities (school/rehabilitation) simultaneously.
Time frame: From the start of treatment to the end of treatment (2 months)
Plan to share: No
This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria