Ignite Creation Date:
2024-05-06 @ 2:20 PM
Last Modification Date:
2024-10-26 @ 1:29 PM
Study NCT ID:
NCT04288986
Status:
UNKNOWN
Last Update Posted:
2020-02-28
First Post:
2020-02-26
Brief Title:
The Impact of Group Based Activity Programmes on Children Who Have Autism and Their Families in Staffordshire
Sponsor:
Midlands Psychology CIC
Organization:
Midlands Psychology CIC
Study Overview
Official Title:
The Impact of Group Based Activity Programmes on Children Who Have Autism and Their Families in Staffordshire
Status:
UNKNOWN
Status Verified Date:
2020-02
Last Known Status:
NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Delayed Posting:
No
If Stopped, Why?:
Not Stopped
Has Expanded Access:
False
If Expanded Access, NCT#:
N/A
Has Expanded Access, NCT# Status:
N/A
Acronym:
None
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 8-week group based activity programme affects social skills and problem behaviours in CYP with ASC
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 8-week group based activity programme affects social skills and problem behaviours in CYP with ASC
Detailed Description:
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 This group 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 and enjoyment in PA and structured activities such as sports clubs and swimming lessons Studies have shown that even at a young age children with ASC are less active than non-ASC children and this physical activity gap gets wider as children get older
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 However many of these studies only worked with children 11 and therefore little is known about group-based activity intervention in young people with ASCs which could provide people with ASC opportunities to be physically active and as well as opportunities to socialise with others
Parental modelling has been shown to be a predictor of childrens PA behaviours with a positive correlation between adult and child PA levels Given the influential role parents play on childrens PA behaviours parental involvement could be used as a function to increase PA in children with ASC
It is not only young people with ASC who may struggle to access or fail to participate in sufficient PA but adults of the so called normal population In the UK 34 of men and 42 of women do not meet the UK physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week PA and civic participation may be particularly beneficial to parents of children with ASC as parents of children with developmental disorders have been shown to report lower quality of life more depression higher levels of stress anxiety and greater pessimism about the future than parents of typically developing children As a result parents with children who have ASC may experience lower sense of connectedness to the social world
Aims
To investigate whether participation in an 8-week group based activity programme affects social skills and problem behaviours in children and young people CYP with ASC
Secondary aims
To investigate the effects of a weekly group based activity programme on parental wellbeing and social connectedness
To investigate the effects of a weekly group based activity programme on CYP self-image
To investigate parental goals for participating in a group based activity programme and evaluate progress toward these goals at the end of the programme
To investigate session enjoyment levels from activities in the 8-week programme via a feedback form
Hypotheses
There will be a difference in social skills and problem behaviours scores for CYP pre and post intervention
There will be a difference in parental wellbeing and social connectedness scores for parents pre and post intervention
There will be a difference in self-image scores for CYP pre and post intervention
Method
Participants
The sample will consist of 20 CYP with an ASC and 20 parentscarers of CYP with an ASC All participants will take place in an 8-week group based activity programme
Principle inclusion criteria include children with a working or full ASC diagnosis aged between 5-15 years self-declared physically fit to participate in activities Siblings and additional adults will also be invited to participate in the programme in order to support their sibling with ASC and to make attendance easier for parents who would otherwise struggle with childcare if they were not able to participate in the programme as a family However data will not be collected from this group Participants will be recruited through advertisements on social media and at local autism support groups
Design
The study will use a pretest-posttest quasi experimental design Participants will complete a serious of questionnaires prior to participating in an 8 week activity programme and again after completing the programme
The 8-week group based activity programme will consist of 8 sessions each lasting 50 minutes The sessions in the programme will be different each week A number of sessions will be semi-structured free play sessions which will be supervised by qualified staff from Midlands Psychology CIC 2 assistant psychologists and a project manager All staff will have enhanced DBS checks and over a years experience running these kinds of activity sessions with families Risk assessments will be completed prior to each session
Semi-structured free play sessions will be consist of a range of activities which parents and CYP can participate in together frisbee hockey soft play football obstacle courses glow in the dark activities
Several sessions will be hosted by local sports clubs such as football rugby and handball When sports clubs host session they will be instructed to break their sport down into a series fun drills for families to participate in such as passing skills dribbling shooting ending with a small game
There will be a swimming session taking place in the swimming pool of a local leisure centre For this session parents and CYP will be supervised in the swimming pool by trained lifeguards and staff members from Midlands Psychology CIC will not be in the swimming pool
The final session in the programme will be a novel activity such as a climbing session at a clip and climb centre to celebrate participation in the programme This session will be run by the centres own staff who have experience running these sessions and require families to participate in a safety briefing and demonstration prior to climbing
Participants can choose to participate in a group based activity programme running in either Stafford Burton Cannock or Tamworth
Procedure
Participants will be recruited via online advertisements These advertisements will target families living within the Staffordshire area The advertisements will inform prospective participants of the 8-week group based programme and ask all interested to contact the research team for further information
Participants will be sent via email or post if requested a parent and child information sheet detailing what the study entails and the consent and assent forms to be completed for all those taking part in the research Participants will be informed that they can drop out of the study at any time and ask for their data to be withdrawn Participants will also have the opportunity to contact the researchers and have any queries addressed
Prior to the start of the activity programme all participants will have the oppourtunity to complete the following measures with the researchers or have them sent in the post the Social Skills Improvement System -Parent SSIS Social Skills Improvement System -Student SSIS Social Connectedness Scale - Revised SCS-R Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale SWEMWBS the Self Image Profile SIP and goal based outcomes GBO If participants have these sent via post they will be asked to return all of these prior to the start of the 8-week activity programme Once the 8-week activity programme has ended participants will again be asked to complete the SSIS SCS-R SWEMWBS SIP and GBOs Participants will be thanked for their participation in the research
For children under the age of 8 years only their parents data will be collected as the questionnaires require a minimum age of 8
Measures
Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales For both adults and CYP CYP over the age of 8
The Social Skills Improvement System SSIS evaluates social skills and problem behaviours There are two separate questionnaires one for parentsguardians and one for CYP Parentsguardians report on the frequency their children exhibit social skills and problem behaviours on a 4-point scale never seldom often and almost always
Social Connectedness Scale Revised
For adults only
Social Connectedness is considered is an attribute of the self reflecting interpersonal thoughts and closeness to the social world The scale is comprised of 10 negatively worked and 10 positively worded items such as I feel comfortable in the presence of strangers and I feel myself as an outsider Participants rate the degree to which they agree or disagree on a scale from 1-6 1 strongly disagree 6 strongly agree
The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales SWEMWBS
For adults only
The Short version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales measures positive aspects of mental health in the prior 2 weeks such as ive been feeling useful or ive been feeling relaxed The scale comprises 7 positively phrased items responded on a 5-point Likert-type scale from None of the time to All of the time
Self Image Profile
For children only
This SIP invites respondents to give two ratings of how they consider themselves to be and how they would like to be across 25 items Participants rate each item from 0 Not At All to 6 Very Much The SIP comprises 12 items of a positive nature ie Intelligent and 12 of a negative tone mess about Once completed a self image score summation of the first rating and self esteem score operationally defined as the discrepancy between the two ratings can be obtained
Goal Based Outcomes GBOs
For adults only
Parents will be asked to state 3 goals that they wish to achieve from participating in the 8-week programme Prior to the start of the intervention parents will be asked to rate where they feel they are now in relation to achieving a specified goal on a scale of 0-10 0 being goal not at all met and 10 being goal reached At the end of the intervention parents will be asked to again rate where they feel they are now in relation to achieving a specified goal on the same rating scale
Proposed data analysis SSIS Social Skills and Problem Behaviours A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for social skills and problem behaviours on the parental SSIS
A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for social skills and problem behaviours on the student SSIS
SIP Self-image
A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for self-image for children with ASC
SWEMWBS Wellbeing
A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for parental mental wellbeing
SCS-R Social Connectedness A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for parents feelings of social connectedness
GBOs Goal Based Outcomes The GBO ratings from pre and post-intervention for the experimental group will be compared to investigate to what extent parents felt their goals for participation were reached
Enjoyment The enjoyment ratings will be correlated with session attendance figures to see whether attendance in the 8-week programme was associated with enjoyment of the sessions
Children with Autism Spectrum Conditions ASC may be at particular risk for inactivity This group 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 and enjoyment in PA and structured activities such as sports clubs and swimming lessons Studies have shown that even at a young age children with ASC are less active than non-ASC children and this physical activity gap gets wider as children get older
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 However many of these studies only worked with children 11 and therefore little is known about group-based activity intervention in young people with ASCs which could provide people with ASC opportunities to be physically active and as well as opportunities to socialise with others
Parental modelling has been shown to be a predictor of childrens PA behaviours with a positive correlation between adult and child PA levels Given the influential role parents play on childrens PA behaviours parental involvement could be used as a function to increase PA in children with ASC
It is not only young people with ASC who may struggle to access or fail to participate in sufficient PA but adults of the so called normal population In the UK 34 of men and 42 of women do not meet the UK physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week PA and civic participation may be particularly beneficial to parents of children with ASC as parents of children with developmental disorders have been shown to report lower quality of life more depression higher levels of stress anxiety and greater pessimism about the future than parents of typically developing children As a result parents with children who have ASC may experience lower sense of connectedness to the social world
Aims
To investigate whether participation in an 8-week group based activity programme affects social skills and problem behaviours in children and young people CYP with ASC
Secondary aims
To investigate the effects of a weekly group based activity programme on parental wellbeing and social connectedness
To investigate the effects of a weekly group based activity programme on CYP self-image
To investigate parental goals for participating in a group based activity programme and evaluate progress toward these goals at the end of the programme
To investigate session enjoyment levels from activities in the 8-week programme via a feedback form
Hypotheses
There will be a difference in social skills and problem behaviours scores for CYP pre and post intervention
There will be a difference in parental wellbeing and social connectedness scores for parents pre and post intervention
There will be a difference in self-image scores for CYP pre and post intervention
Method
Participants
The sample will consist of 20 CYP with an ASC and 20 parentscarers of CYP with an ASC All participants will take place in an 8-week group based activity programme
Principle inclusion criteria include children with a working or full ASC diagnosis aged between 5-15 years self-declared physically fit to participate in activities Siblings and additional adults will also be invited to participate in the programme in order to support their sibling with ASC and to make attendance easier for parents who would otherwise struggle with childcare if they were not able to participate in the programme as a family However data will not be collected from this group Participants will be recruited through advertisements on social media and at local autism support groups
Design
The study will use a pretest-posttest quasi experimental design Participants will complete a serious of questionnaires prior to participating in an 8 week activity programme and again after completing the programme
The 8-week group based activity programme will consist of 8 sessions each lasting 50 minutes The sessions in the programme will be different each week A number of sessions will be semi-structured free play sessions which will be supervised by qualified staff from Midlands Psychology CIC 2 assistant psychologists and a project manager All staff will have enhanced DBS checks and over a years experience running these kinds of activity sessions with families Risk assessments will be completed prior to each session
Semi-structured free play sessions will be consist of a range of activities which parents and CYP can participate in together frisbee hockey soft play football obstacle courses glow in the dark activities
Several sessions will be hosted by local sports clubs such as football rugby and handball When sports clubs host session they will be instructed to break their sport down into a series fun drills for families to participate in such as passing skills dribbling shooting ending with a small game
There will be a swimming session taking place in the swimming pool of a local leisure centre For this session parents and CYP will be supervised in the swimming pool by trained lifeguards and staff members from Midlands Psychology CIC will not be in the swimming pool
The final session in the programme will be a novel activity such as a climbing session at a clip and climb centre to celebrate participation in the programme This session will be run by the centres own staff who have experience running these sessions and require families to participate in a safety briefing and demonstration prior to climbing
Participants can choose to participate in a group based activity programme running in either Stafford Burton Cannock or Tamworth
Procedure
Participants will be recruited via online advertisements These advertisements will target families living within the Staffordshire area The advertisements will inform prospective participants of the 8-week group based programme and ask all interested to contact the research team for further information
Participants will be sent via email or post if requested a parent and child information sheet detailing what the study entails and the consent and assent forms to be completed for all those taking part in the research Participants will be informed that they can drop out of the study at any time and ask for their data to be withdrawn Participants will also have the opportunity to contact the researchers and have any queries addressed
Prior to the start of the activity programme all participants will have the oppourtunity to complete the following measures with the researchers or have them sent in the post the Social Skills Improvement System -Parent SSIS Social Skills Improvement System -Student SSIS Social Connectedness Scale - Revised SCS-R Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale SWEMWBS the Self Image Profile SIP and goal based outcomes GBO If participants have these sent via post they will be asked to return all of these prior to the start of the 8-week activity programme Once the 8-week activity programme has ended participants will again be asked to complete the SSIS SCS-R SWEMWBS SIP and GBOs Participants will be thanked for their participation in the research
For children under the age of 8 years only their parents data will be collected as the questionnaires require a minimum age of 8
Measures
Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales For both adults and CYP CYP over the age of 8
The Social Skills Improvement System SSIS evaluates social skills and problem behaviours There are two separate questionnaires one for parentsguardians and one for CYP Parentsguardians report on the frequency their children exhibit social skills and problem behaviours on a 4-point scale never seldom often and almost always
Social Connectedness Scale Revised
For adults only
Social Connectedness is considered is an attribute of the self reflecting interpersonal thoughts and closeness to the social world The scale is comprised of 10 negatively worked and 10 positively worded items such as I feel comfortable in the presence of strangers and I feel myself as an outsider Participants rate the degree to which they agree or disagree on a scale from 1-6 1 strongly disagree 6 strongly agree
The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales SWEMWBS
For adults only
The Short version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales measures positive aspects of mental health in the prior 2 weeks such as ive been feeling useful or ive been feeling relaxed The scale comprises 7 positively phrased items responded on a 5-point Likert-type scale from None of the time to All of the time
Self Image Profile
For children only
This SIP invites respondents to give two ratings of how they consider themselves to be and how they would like to be across 25 items Participants rate each item from 0 Not At All to 6 Very Much The SIP comprises 12 items of a positive nature ie Intelligent and 12 of a negative tone mess about Once completed a self image score summation of the first rating and self esteem score operationally defined as the discrepancy between the two ratings can be obtained
Goal Based Outcomes GBOs
For adults only
Parents will be asked to state 3 goals that they wish to achieve from participating in the 8-week programme Prior to the start of the intervention parents will be asked to rate where they feel they are now in relation to achieving a specified goal on a scale of 0-10 0 being goal not at all met and 10 being goal reached At the end of the intervention parents will be asked to again rate where they feel they are now in relation to achieving a specified goal on the same rating scale
Proposed data analysis SSIS Social Skills and Problem Behaviours A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for social skills and problem behaviours on the parental SSIS
A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for social skills and problem behaviours on the student SSIS
SIP Self-image
A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for self-image for children with ASC
SWEMWBS Wellbeing
A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for parental mental wellbeing
SCS-R Social Connectedness A paired-samples t-test will be used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores for parents feelings of social connectedness
GBOs Goal Based Outcomes The GBO ratings from pre and post-intervention for the experimental group will be compared to investigate to what extent parents felt their goals for participation were reached
Enjoyment The enjoyment ratings will be correlated with session attendance figures to see whether attendance in the 8-week programme was associated with enjoyment of the sessions
Study Oversight
Has Oversight DMC:
None
Is a FDA Regulated Drug?:
False
Is a FDA Regulated Device?:
False
Is an Unapproved Device?:
None
Is a PPSD?:
None
Is a US Export?:
None
Is an FDA AA801 Violation?:
None