Current studies at the M.I.N.D. Institute:  Study Flyer (Pdf)   

A Multi-site Clinical Trial of Intervention for Infants at Risk for Autism:  Early Start Denver Model
The purpose of this study is to provide early diagnosis, assessment and monitoring and examine the effects of parent’s use of the Early Start Denver Model intervention.

Joint Attention in Autism: An Intervention Study
"Joint attention" is a term used to describe the coordination of a person's visual attention with an object he/she is looking at or motioning toward. We hope to learn what might improve joint attention deficits in young children recently diagnosed with autism.

Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (“CHARGE”)
We hope to determine if factors in the environment are associated with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in children and families. Parents and siblings of each child are also asked to participate.

Autism Phenome Project
The goal of this study is to define different types of autism. We will follow families over the next five to eight years to learn about different changes that occur as children grow.

Treating Sleep Disorders in Children with Autism
We hope to learn whether a treatment, called behavioral intervention, will be helpful in reducing the symptoms of children's sleep problems. Our behavioral interventions use parents as teachers of behavior practices that are designed to produce change.

Innate Immunity and Cellular Activation in Autism
We hope to learn more about how white blood cells react and what they produce in response to viruses and bacteria in patients with autism. The study will look at children’s immune response by studying blood from children with autism and age-matched controls, including siblings.

Study of Fluoxetine in Autism
The purpose of this study is to test efficacy and safety of fluoxetine relative to placebo in the treatment of repetitive behavior in pediatric outpatients with autism.  This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, 14-week multicenter study will investigate the effect of fluoxetine orally dissolving tablet (ODT) on the repetitive behaviors in children and adolescents.

Psychophysiology of Emotion in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
The purpose of this study is to learn more about how the body responds to emotions. We hope this research will lead to better understanding and treatment of emotional difficulties in people with developmental disabilities.

Tourette's Syndrome Blood Genomics
We hope to learn more about the changes of gene expression in blood (measured by examining the RNA) of patients with Tourette's Syndrome and other diseases that are associated with the syndrome.

Genotype-Phenotype Relationships in Fragile X Families
We are conducting medical and psychological assessments for immediate family members with proband Fragile X syndrome.  The study focuses on identifying areas of specific deficits by relating the deficits.

Evaluating the Limbic-Hypothalamci-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (LHPA) Axis in Children with Autism 
We are examining how children with high functioning autism and children with typical development respond to stress.  Saliva samples are collected when the child is home and when the child is exposed to a mock MRI.  We are measuring the level or cortisol, a stress hormone, in the saliva samples.
Three Fixed Doses of Aripiprazole in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Autistic Disorder
This study is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the drug Aripiprazole. Upon completion, study participants are invited to enroll in a 12-month open label extension study of Aripiprazole.

Developmental Studies of Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
We hope to learn more about the cognitive abilities and brain function in children with Tourette Syndrome.

Visuospatial Cognitive Deficit in Del22q11.2 Syndrome
We hope to learn how the structure and functioning of the brain is affected in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (VCFS/DiGeorge).