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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05092321

Aquatic Therapy for ASD

This is an aquatic occupational therapy group for children between the ages of 3-12 that have an autism diagnosis. Intervention will focus on increasing the child's safety swim skills.

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Key information

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder Child Development Disorders, Pervasive Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Age range

3 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

The Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio, 43210, United States

About this study

Information will be collected from participants' guardians during an intake visit regarding a child's sensory processing deficits, movement abilities and exposure to swim skill instruction prior to the group. The group will provide swim instruction using the Halliwick approach to learning swim skills as well as other occupational therapy techniques such as shaping, therapeutic relationship and behavior management. Groups will have a minimum ratio of 1 staff to every 2 children, with the possibility of 1:1 ratio most days. There will be a certified lifeguard present at all times. Qualitative interviews and a follow up survey will be conducted with parents (ages 18+) to determine impact on families and individual participants. Swim skills will be tracked at each session via goal attainment scaling and daily documentation. Descriptive and correlational statistics will be completed as well as coding of interview and survey data. Participants can participate for one, 10 week session, or will have the option to participate in additional 10 week sessions until child participants top out on the WOTA or plateau in progress of swim skills.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • pre-existing diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder from a medical professional
  • family interest in swimming

Exclusion criteria

  • ventilation system for breathing such as trachea not capped

Treatment and study plan

Aquatic Occupational Therapy

Behavioral

Group of 4-8 children, paired with a swim buddy. Intervention techniques including discrete teaching, motor shaping, behavioral management, therapeutic relationship and individualized goals.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in swim skills

    Time frame: baseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention

    Change in swim skills measured with Water Orientation Test-Alyn; higher scores mean a better outcome. Minimum score is 0, maximum is 27

  2. Change in individualized goals

    Time frame: immediately after the intervention

    Goal Attainment Scaling to track change in other swim performance skills not measured above. Scores for each goal range from -2 (regression) to +2 (2 levels more than anticipated). A higher score indicates improvement.

  3. Change in parent comfort

    Time frame: baseline pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention

    Custom questionnaire using 5 point Likert scale regarding comfort and importance of water participation for the child. A higher score indicates increased parent comfort, which is the desirable direction.

  4. Parent perspective

    Time frame: one time after 8 hours of intervention have been provided to the child participant

    qualitative interview regarding parent perspective of the the intervention

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Ohio State University

Other

Collaborators

  • Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities

Registry information

Official study title

Exploration of Aquatic Therapy in Children With Autism and Their Families

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Oct 25, 2021
Registry last updated
Dec 13, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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