NCT07278544

Harnessing Communication Preferences

Recruiting now NA Last updated 12 December 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing PrefFCT in Intellectual Disability in 60 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

15 August 2025

Primary endpoint
31 March 2031

31 March 2031

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Joel E. Ringdahl
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	crossover
Masking	single
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	60
Start date	15 August 2025
Primary completion	31 March 2031
Estimated completion	31 March 2031
Sites	2 locations across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• PrefFCT
• NonPrefFCT

Conditions studied

• Intellectual Disability — all drugs for Intellectual Disability →
• Autism Spectrum Disorder — all drugs for Autism Spectrum Disorder →
• Self-Injurious Behavior — all drugs for Self-Injurious Behavior →
• Communication Disabilities — all drugs for Communication Disabilities →

Sponsor

Joel E. Ringdahl

Who can join

Adults 2 to 90, any sex, with Intellectual Disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate how preference for communication approach (e.g., using a touch talker versus picture cards) impacts treatment maintenance in the context of treatment to reduce challenging behavior exhibited by individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. As well, the clinical trial will evaluate how this preference impacts treatment relapse when care providers implement intervention and will identify potential demographic variables (e.g., age and symptom severity) that affect outcomes.

The main question\[s\] it aims to answer \[is/are\]:

Preferred communication strategies will persist to a greater extent when intervention is disrupted, relative to less preferred communication strategies.

Communication modality preference will increase persistence for individuals with lower pre-experimental symptom severity scores and higher pre-experimental communication functioning scores. We predict demographic characteristics and developmental level will not impact intervention outcomes.

Two groups will be compared. Group 1 will receive initial intervention using a preferred communication strategy. Group 2 will receive initial intervention using a non preferred, but effective, communication strategy. Intervention type will then be reversed. Researchers will compare preferred and non preferred interventions on continued expression of the communication strategy when intervention is challenged.

Participants will exhibit alternative appropriate communicative behavior as a means of replacing/reducing challenging behavior. This will take place using (a) preferred communication strategies and (b) non preferred communication strategies. Following successful intervention with each type of communication, intervention will be challenged and continued use of the communication strategy will be measured.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial.