Therapeutic Dance Intervention for Children With Cerebral Palsy

NCT03681171 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: 20162682
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 9
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have motor impairments that may limit participation in standard physical activity (PA) programs. Adapted PA interventions may help address this gap. Dance-based interventions may support coordination, posture, muscle strength, motor learning, and executive function. This pilot study evaluates the feasibility and preliminary effects of a therapeutic ballet intervention designed for children with CP on physiological and executive function outcomes.

Conditions

Cerebral Palsy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Congruent Trial (Hearts) Accuracy

  Inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (hearts and flowers computer task) The scale title is Accuracy (%) and the measurement is percent correct, where the higher scores mean better results and more accuracy. Accuracy ranges from about 20%-100%

  12 weeks

• Congruent Trial (Hearts) Response Time

  Inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (hearts and flowers computer task) The scale title is Response Time in milliseconds (ms), the lower the number the better the score. The range is about 550ms-1100ms.

  12 weeks

• Incongruent Trial (Flowers) Accuracy

  Inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (hearts and flowers computer task) The scale title is Accuracy (%) and the measurement is percent correct, where the higher scores mean better results and more accuracy. Accuracy ranges from about 20%-100%

  12 weeks

• Incongruent Trial (Flowers) Response Time

  Inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (hearts and flowers computer task) The scale title is Response Time in milliseconds (ms), the lower the number the better the score. The range is about 550ms-1100ms.

  12 weeks

• Mixed Trial (Hearts and Flowers) Accuracy

  Inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (hearts and flowers computer task) The scale title is Accuracy (%) and the measurement is percent correct, where the higher scores mean better results and more accuracy. Accuracy ranges from about 20%-100%

  8 weeks

• Mixed Trial (Hearts and Flowers) Response Time

  Inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (hearts and flowers computer task) The scale title is Response Time in milliseconds (ms), the lower the number the better the score. The range is about 550ms-1100ms.

  8 weeks

Study Arms (1)

Children with CP

EXPERIMENTAL

Children with CP (9-15 years old) participated in a therapeutic dance program to improve physical, physiological and cognitive outcomes.

Other: Therapeutic Dance

Interventions

Therapeutic Dance OTHER

Participants attended therapeutic ballet sessions three times per week for six weeks.

Children with CP

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 9 Years - 15 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Cerebral palsy spastic diplegia and/or hemiplegia
• Absence of health problems that would preclude participation in exercise
• Male or female age 9 - 15 years inclusive at the time of consent
• Minimum level of intellectual functioning (e.g., as determined by an IQ score of 80 or above or other education placement and testing indicating sufficient understanding)
• Ability to complete study measures at the assessment
• Ability to participate in dance classes conducted in English
• Interest in learning ballet
• Intact vision
• Intact hearing
• Able to ambulate independently in the community with or without a device
• Intact proprioception in lower extremities
• Able to complete assessment measures and consents in English
• Referral from the child's pediatrician or other physician indicating that the child is physically able to participate in an exercise intervention

You may not qualify if:

• Children with a current diagnosis of severe Major Depressive Disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Epilepsy
• Autism
• Other major medical conditions that prohibit full participation and children with severe developmental disorders (e.g., mental retardation, severe autism) or with physical impairments that prohibit full participation were excluded from the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shlomit Aizik: lead

Related Publications (1)

• Lakes KD, Sharp K, Grant-Beuttler M, Neville R, Haddad F, Sunico R, Ho D, Schneider M, Sawitz S, Paulsen J, Caputo K, Lu KD, Aminian A, Lopez-Ortiz C, Radom-Aizik S. A Six Week Therapeutic Ballet Intervention Improved Gait and Inhibitory Control in Children With Cerebral Palsy-A Pilot Study. Front Public Health. 2019 Jun 25;7:137. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00137. eCollection 2019.

  PMID: 31294009 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cerebral Palsy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain Damage, Chronic; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases

Limitations and Caveats

Modifications to the intervention might be needed on individualized basis to optimize health benefits, particularly for those with a greater level of initial impairment.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Peter Horvath (Administrative Contact)
• Organization: University of California, Irvine Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC)

phorvath@hs.uci.edu

17144568248

Study Officials

• Shlomit Aizik, PhD

  University of California, Irvine

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 30, 2018
• First Posted: September 21, 2018
• Study Start: October 6, 2016
• Primary Completion: June 15, 2017
• Study Completion: June 15, 2017
• Last Updated: March 12, 2026
• Results First Posted: March 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-01