PRT for Adolescents With High Functioning Autism

Inclusion Criteria:

   - Clinical Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, higher functioning/low support needs

   - Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Participants with a Full Scale IQ > 80 on the Wechsler
   Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II)

   - Right-handed

   - No metal in their body/unremovable metal on their body (i.e., braces)

   - First language is English

   - Must live in the San Francisco Bay Area

   - Able and willing to receive intervention weekly for 9 weeks

   - Adolescent is interested in improving their social skills

   - MRI Compatibility: No major contraindication for MRI.

   - Diagnosis of ASD using ADOS-2 and ADI-R.

   - No evidence of a genetic, metabolic, or infectious etiology for their autism.

   - Primary diagnosis of ASD

   - No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate
   neonatal period.

   - Stable treatment (e.g., ABA), speech therapy, school placement, psychotropic
   medication(s) or biomedical intervention(s) for at least 1 month prior to baseline
   measurements with no anticipated changes during study participation.

   - Score of at least 50% or below on at least 4 out of the 9 social target areas in the
   SLO (administered during pre-measures)

   - No evidence of significant difficulty during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate
   neonatal period.

Exclusion Criteria:

   - History of claustrophobia, previous head injury, serious neurological or medical
   illness, birth weight less than 4 lb. and/or gestational age < 34 weeks

   - Left-handed

   - Braces or any metal in their body