Therapeutic Climbing for Children With DCD

NCT07609563 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 2026-6195Mental health 2025-2026
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 16
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This study looks at whether therapeutic climbing - indoor climbing activities guided by therapists - can help children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). DCD is a condition where children have difficulty with motor skills and participation in everyday activities, and sometimes confidence in physical activities. The climbing program is based on a problem-solving approach called CO-OP (Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance), in which children learn strategies to achieve goals.

Conditions

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)

Keywords

Therapeutic climbing; Neurodevelopmental condition; Group intervention; Participation-oriented approach; Occupational therapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Performance related to individualized goals

  Assess with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (visual analog scale of 1-10)

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intevention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

• Satisfaction related to individualized goals

  Assess with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (visual analog scale of 1-10)

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intervention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

• Performance related to climbing-specific goals

  Assess with the Performance Quality Rating Scale (PQRS) (visual analog scale of 1-10)

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intervention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Motor skills

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intervention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

• Self-efficacy

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intervention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

• Executive functioning

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intervention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

• Motivation for physical activity

  Baseline (2-3 months before the intervention, pre-intervention (immediatly before the intervention), post-intervention (immediatly after the intervention), follow-up 2-3 months post-intervention

Study Arms (2)

Group 1 - Fall 2026

EXPERIMENTAL

First group intervention

Other: CO-OP-based group therapeutic climbing intervention

Group 2 - Winter 2027

EXPERIMENTAL

Second group intervention

Other: CO-OP-based group therapeutic climbing intervention

Interventions

CO-OP-based group therapeutic climbing intervention OTHER

The intervention will consist of a 10-week group-based therapeutic climbing program delivered once weekly on Saturday afternoons at an indoor climbing center. Sessions will be delivered by an occupational therapist (OT), two occupational therapy interns, and a certified climbing monitor (hereafter referred to as "intervention providers"). Each 90-minute session will follow the same global structure. The intervention is grounded in the CO-OP approach.

Group 1 - Fall 2026; Group 2 - Winter 2027

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 8 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Diagnosis of DCD by a physician\*.
• Ability to follow instructions, communicate verbally, interact with adults and peers, and use cognitive strategies.
• Ability to attend all assessment and intervention sessions in Sherbrooke.
• Ability to understand and speak French.
• Provision of child assent and parental consent. \* If the target sample size (n = 16) is not reached, children with suspected DCD based on the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) (25,26) will also be considered. Eligibility will then require: (1) a score below the 15th percentile on the total motor composite or below the 5th percentile in a domain of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT) (27,28), and (2) the identification of occupational challenges using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (29,30) during the initial assessment.

You may not qualify if:

• Diagnosis of severe behavioral disorders, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and/or severe functional limitations.
• Prior proficiency in climbing or absence of climbing-related goals.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Université de Sherbrooke: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Skills Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Emmanuelle Jasmin, Ph.D.

  Université de Sherbrooke

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Emmanuelle Jasmin, Ph.D.

CONTACT

1-819-342-0305; emmanuelle.jasmin@usherbrooke.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 12, 2026
• First Posted: May 27, 2026
• Study Start: May 15, 2026
• Primary Completion: June 6, 2026
• Study Completion: June 6, 2026
• Last Updated: June 1, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share