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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05067361

Effectiveness of Aerobic Exercises on the Autistic Children

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder manifesting stereotypic behaviors and problem in communication and social interaction. Different physical therapy interventions like aerobics help to improve recurrent behaviors and task performance of autistic children. This study was focused to see the effect of jogging on the stereotypic behaviors and task performance of autistic children. A single blinded randomized study was conducted on 38 autistic children, randomly allocated to two groups, performing jogging and ball exercises. Repetitive Behavior Scale-revised(RBS-R) and Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT) was used for assessment. Exercise was performed for 3 weeks and 4 sessions per week.

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Key information

Conditions

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

Age range

6 year–20 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Faisalabad

Faisalābad, Punjab Province, 38000, Pakistan

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed children of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by experts
  • Have recognized stereotypic behaviors
  • Age 6 to 20 years
  • Independent to walk
  • Both genders
  • Parent and teachers willing to give consent

Exclusion criteria

  • Unable to understand commands
  • Have co-morbidities like schizophrenia or ADHD
  • Having respiratory or cardiovascular problems
  • Severe ASD
  • Lower limb injury and disability

Treatment and study plan

Aerobic Exercise

Procedure

Jogging was performed for 20 minutes. Jogging was performed by experimental group for 3 weeks and 4 sessions per week.

Ball Exercises

Procedure

Ball exercises like stability ball roll, stability ball hug, stability ball catching, ball throwing and ball tapping exercises were for 10 minutes. Ball exercises was performed by both groups for 3 weeks and 4 times per week .

Primary outcomes

  1. Repetitive behavior scale revised (RBS-R)

    Time frame: 3 weeks

    RBS-R was used to assess the stereotypic behaviors of autistic children. It is 43 items questionnaire that is placed under six subscales. The sub-scales are Stereotyped Behavior Subscale Self-Injurious Behavior Subscale Compulsive Behavior Subscale Ritualistic Behavior Subscale Sameness Behavior Subscale Restricted Behavior Subscale Each subscale has different characteristics, which are classified from 0 to 3 (behavior is severe). Moreover, each behavior is also rated that how much this behavior occurs, cause interruption in activity and how much a child become agitated when he was interrupted. Global score rating was used by calculating the scores of all the six subscales and total score was given in range of 1 to 100.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT)

    Time frame: 3 weeks

    JHFT was used to evaluate the task performance of autistic children.JHFT has seven variants and time was recorded, in seconds, taken by children to complete these seven tasks. These seven tasks are writing, card turning, small common objects, simulated feeding, stacking, lifting large lightweight objects and lifting large heavy objects. These piece of work was first performed by the non-dominant hand then by the dominant hand and at the end time required during all the task was summed up in minutes

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Faisalabad

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effectiveness of Aerobic Exercises on the Stereotypic Behaviors and Task Performance of Autistic Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Oct 5, 2021
Registry last updated
Oct 5, 2021

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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