Keep Achieving:The Impact of Group Based Activity Programmes on Children Who Have Autism and Their Families

NCT04165655 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: MP/KA-1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Participation in structured activities and physical activity (PA) have been linked to several indicators of positive development such as self-esteem and psychological health as well as greater academic outcomes and lower school drop-out rates. Despite this, 77% of boys and 80% of girls aged 5-15 in the UK also fall below the national physical activity guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day. Children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) may be at particular risk for inactivity as they are more likely to experience barriers to participation in these types of activities and motor skills impairments, common in people with ASC, can further limit participation in PA. Studies that have attempted to increase PA in young people with autism have shown reduction in problem behaviours such as inattention and aggression and increase in positive behaviours such as sleep, improvements in quality of life, academic performance and physical competence, and reductions in stress. The primary research aim is to investigate whether participation in a 10-week group based activity programme affects social skills and problem behaviours in CYP with ASC. It is hypothesised that children and young people (CYP) participating in the 10-week group based activity programme will show greater improvements in social skills and a greater reduction in problem behaviours than CYP not participating in the 10-week activity programme (control condition). Participants will be assigned to either the experimental condition (10-week activity programme) or waitlist control group. Participants in the 10-week activity programme will participate in group based activities including; 'pick up and play' sessions, swimming sessions and sport specific sessions coached by local sports teams. The 10-week activity programme consists of 1, 50 minute session per week for 10-weeks. Questionnaire data will be collected pre and post intervention to see if there are any differences in social skills and problem behaviour scores between the experimental and control group for CYP with ASC.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Keywords

Autism spectrum condition; ASC; Children and young people; Social skills; Problem behaviours; Activity intervention; Wellbeing; Self image; Social connectedness

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales - Parent (Social Skills Improvement System; Gresham & Elliott (2007).

  The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) evaluates social skills and problem behaviours. Parents/guardians report on the frequency their children exhibit social skills and problem behaviours on a 4-point scale with responses including; 0 'never' , 1 'seldom', 2 'often', and 3 'almost always'. Social skills are evaluated in the following domains: communication, cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, engagement, and self-control. Problem behaviours assessed include: externalizing, bullying, hyperactivity/inattention, internalising, and "autism spectrum". For the social skills domain higher scores indicate better outcomes. For the problem behaviours domain, higher scores indicate poorer outcomes.

  14 weeks

• Change in Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales - Child (Social Skills Improvement System; Gresham & Elliott (2007).

  The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) evaluates social skills and problem behaviours. Young people (8-12) indicate if a variety of different statements about problem behaviours or social skills are true of them on a 4-point scale: not true (minimum value), a little true, a lot true, and very true (maximum value). Social skills are evaluated in the following domains: communication, cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, engagement, and self-control. Problem behaviours assessed include: externalizing, bullying, hyperactivity/inattention, internalising, and "autism spectrum". For the social skills domain higher scores indicate better outcomes. For the problem behaviours domain, higher scores indicate poorer outcomes.

  14 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Social Connectedness Scale Revised (SCS-R; Lee, Draper & Lee 2001)

  14 weeks

• Self Image Profile (SIP; Butler)

  14 weeks

• The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales (SWEMWBS; Stewart-Brown et al., 2009)

  14 weeks

• Goal Based Outcomes (GBOs)

  14 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Keep Achieving (KA) group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the experimental group will take part in a 10-week group based activity programme. The activity programme will consist of 1, 50 minute session each week for the duration of 10-weeks. The activity sessions will include semi-structures free play sessions, sport specific sessions facilitated by local sports teams and swimming sessions.

Behavioral: Keep Achieving (KA)

Waitlist control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in this group will not receive the 10-week group based activity intervention throughout the duration of this study. Participants will be able to participate in the 10-week activity intervention once this research has ended.

Interventions

Keep Achieving (KA) BEHAVIORAL

The 10-week group based activity programme will consist of 10 sessions each lasting 50 minutes.

Also known as: 10-week group based activity programme

Keep Achieving (KA) group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 8 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• A child or young person with a working or full diagnosis of an Autism spectrum condition (ASC). Parents/carers will be asked to provide proof in the form of a letter that their child has an ASC.
• The child with an ASC must be between the ages of 8-12 years.
• All participants must confirm they are physically fit to participate in this research as some activities involve moderate to vigorous physical activity.
• All children with an ASC who are receiving alternative support are required to declare this prior to participation and specify the type of support received.

You may not qualify if:

• Children/young people without a full or working ASC diagnosis
• Children with a full or working diagnosis of ASC not between the ages of 8-12 years
• People who are not deemed physically fit to participate in the activity programme by their own self-assessment.
• Current or recent participation in another clinical trial/study/scientific experiment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Midlands Psychology CIC: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Hayes

Stafford, Staffordshire, ST16 3PG, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

Related Publications (11)

• Butler R.J. (2001) The self-image profile for children (SIP-C) and adolescents (SIP-A). Manual. London, The Psychological Corporation

  BACKGROUND

• Eccles, J. S., & Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band what kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of adolescent research, 14(1), 10-43.

  BACKGROUND

• Hastings RP, Kovshoff H, Ward NJ, degli Espinosa F, Brown T, Remington B. Systems analysis of stress and positive perceptions in mothers and fathers of pre-school children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2005 Oct;35(5):635-44. doi: 10.1007/s10803-005-0007-8.

  PMID: 16177837 BACKGROUND

• Kohl HW 3rd, Hobbs KE. Development of physical activity behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 1998 Mar;101(3 Pt 2):549-54.

  PMID: 12224661 BACKGROUND

• Lang, R., Koegel, L. K., Ashbaugh, K. et al. (2010). Physical exercise and individuals with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4(4), 565-576.

  BACKGROUND

• Lee, R. M., Draper, M., & Lee, S. (2001). Social connectedness, dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors, and psychological distress: Testing a mediator model. Journal of counseling psychology, 48(3), 310.

  BACKGROUND

• Neff, K. D., & Faso, D. J. (2015). Self-compassion and well-being in parents of children with autism. Mindfulness, 6(4), 938-947.

  BACKGROUND

• Memari, A. H., Kordi, R., Ziaee, V. (2012). Weight status in Iranian children with autism spectrum disorders: Investigation of underweight, overweight and obesity. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(1), 234-239.

  BACKGROUND

• Public Health England (2016). Health matters: getting every adult active every day. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-getting-every-adult-active-every-day/health-matters-getting-every-adult-active-every-day [Accessed 20 Aug. 2019].

  BACKGROUND

• Stewart-Brown S, Tennant A, Tennant R, Platt S, Parkinson J, Weich S. Internal construct validity of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): a Rasch analysis using data from the Scottish Health Education Population Survey. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2009 Feb 19;7:15. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-7-15.

  PMID: 19228398 BACKGROUND

• Trost SG, Kerr LM, Ward DS, Pate RR. Physical activity and determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Jun;25(6):822-9. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801621.

  PMID: 11439296 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Social Skills

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Social Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• James Smolinski

  Midlands Psychology CIC

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Jez Janda

CONTACT

01785 748 447; jez.janda@midlandspsychology.co.uk

James Smolinski

CONTACT

01785 748 447; james.smolinski@midlandspsychology.co.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: The study will use a between-subject design where by participants will be assigned to either the experimental (10-week programme) or waitlist control group. Participants will be assigned a group based in the area in which they live. As the 10-week programme will be running in Tamworth, those participants living in Tamworth and surrounds will be assigned to the experimental group. The participants living in Cannock and surrounds will be assigned to the waitlist control group and participate in a 10-week programme after this research.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 8, 2019
• First Posted: November 18, 2019
• Study Start: February 1, 2020
• Primary Completion: April 1, 2020
• Study Completion: May 1, 2020
• Last Updated: March 2, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)