Trial reportAutism : the international journal of research and practice2022
A preliminary randomized, controlled trial of executive function training for children with autism spectrum disorder.
Trial report in Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of exercise interventions on executive function in autism spectrum disorder: a three-level meta-analytic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Trial
- A digital intervention to support childhood cognition after the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Beyond group differences: Exploring the preliminary signals of target engagement of an executive function training for autistic children.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2022Trial
- Psychological Interventions for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in the Context of Neurodiversity: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Spatiotemporal brain-state dynamics delineate executive function subtypes in school-aged autism: evidence from co-activation patterns and a four-year follow-up.Molecular autism · 2026Article
- Efficacy of executive function training in preschool children with ASD: a randomized controlled trial.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Efficacy of gamified digital health interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Review
- Autism Spectrum Disorder: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Mind the Gap: Executive Function Is Associated with the Discrepancy Between Cognitive and Adaptive Functioning in Autistic Children Without Cognitive Delay.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Effects of Computerized Cognitive Training in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Executive Functions Assessment in a Child with Autism: A Pilot Single-Case Study from a Longitudinal and Mixed Methods Approach.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Literature Review.Cardiology research · 2024Review
- EEG Biomarkers for Autism: Rational, Support, and the Qualification Process.Advances in neurobiology · 2024Review
- Mental Health Therapist Perspectives on the Role of Executive Functioning in Children's Mental Health Services.Evidence-based practice in child and adolescent mental health · 2023Article
- Executive Function Improvement for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparative Study between Virtual Training and Physical Exercise Methods.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Resting frontal alpha asymmetry as a predictor of executive and affective functioning in children with neurodevelopmental differences.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Associations between executive functioning, challenging behavior, and quality of life in children and adolescents with and without neurodevelopmental conditions.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
lay abstractExecutive function, which is a set of thinking skills that includes stopping unwanted responses, being flexible, and remembering information needed to solve problems, is a challenge for many children on the autism spectrum. This study tested whether executive function could be improved with a computerized executive function training program under the guidance of a coach who reinforced the use of executive function skills. Seventy children with autism spectrum disorder from age 7 to 11 years of age participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to receive training or to a waiting group. The tests most likely to determine whether the training may be effective were chosen from a larger battery before the study started and included one task measuring brain responses, two measures of executive function in the lab, and a parent questionnaire. Changes in social functioning and repetitive behaviors were also explored. All children assigned to training completed the program and families generally reported the experience was positive. Brain responses of the training group changed following training, but not within the waiting group during a similar time period. Children who received training did not exhibit behavioral changes during the two the lab-based tasks. Parent report on questionnaires indicated that neither group showed a significant change in their broad use of executive function in other settings. Yet, children who received training were reported to have fewer restricted and repetitive behaviors following training. These initial findings suggest that short executive function training activities are feasible and may improve some functioning of school-aged children on the autism spectrum.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.