Combined Effects of Early Behavioral Intervention and Propranolol on ASD

The GSOM is a brief evaluation tool that measures a participant's level of social functioning and how it changes with intervention. There GSOM includes 4 different tasks: conversational reciprocity, ability to recognize facial expressions, social problem solving, affect demonstration, and emotional perspective taking. The experimenter administers each component of the GSOM to the participant and then scores their responses according to a pre-determined scoring rubric. Each component is scored on a 1-5 or 0 - 2 scale, with higher total scores indicating better social functioning. A video camera will be used to record the participant's behavior during GSOM administration for the purposes of having two independent raters score the tasks after the study session is complete. A camera will also be used during the affect demonstration task of the GSOM. The overall score is used. The range is 6-132, with higher scores being better.

This 65-item, parent-report measure asks questions about a participants' social awareness, social information processing, capacity for reciprocal social responses, social anxiety or avoidance, and characteristic autistic preoccupations or traits. The total score is used with a range of 0-195, with lower scores being better.

To assess anxiety, the PAS will be completed by the parents/caregivers of participants. This self-report measure yields a total score in addition to six subscales (separation anxiety, social phobia, obsessive compulsive, panic/agoraphobia, physical injury fears, and generalized anxiety). The overall score is used. Range is 0-112 with lower score meaning less anxiety.

To assess overall behavioral disturbances, a parent/caregiver of the participants will complete ABC. This 58-item questionnaire is a well validated, reliable, and widely used assessment tool for interventions for a range of cognitive disorders. The full score is used, with a range of 0-174, with higher scores meaning more behaviors.

To assess overall adaptive functioning, the VABS will be administered in the form of a structured interview with the parent/caregiver. The VABS is a well validated assessment used for the full range of our subjects' ages and yields standard scores in Communication, Daily Living Skills, Socialization, and Motor Skills. VABS scores for Socialization will be monitored in this study. The range is 20-160 with higher scores better.

The AIM will be administered to assess the frequency and impact of a participant's ASD-related symptoms. A parent/caregiver is asked a series of 41 questions regarding the frequency and the impact, or interference resulting from, a series of autism-associated behaviors. Peer interaction from the AIM is the primary domain obtained from this measure. For this domain the range is 0 to 40, with higher numbers more severe.

To evaluate language, we will administer the PLS, which has been developed for use in younger children (birth through age 7), and is appropriate for children of all ability levels, including nonverbal children. This play-based, interactive assessment is designed to assess receptive and expressive language skills and their change over time. The range is 50-150 with higher scores being better.