Family Centered Occupational Therapy on Play Skills and Participation of Children With ASD
Condition: Autism Spectrum Disorder
MeSH terms: Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Play skills and participation of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been
      restricted by their core symptoms, resulting in heightened parenting stress and affected
      family daily life. This research aims to improve play skills and participation of children
      with ASD through 'family-centered occupational therapy', thereby leading to positive outcome
      for not only the child but also the whole family.
    

Detailed description: 
      Play skills and participation of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been
      restricted by their core symptoms, resulting in heightened parenting stress and affected
      family daily life. This research aims to improve play skills and participation of children
      with ASD through 'family-centered occupational therapy', thereby leading to positive outcome
      for not only the child but also the whole family.

      60 children age 2~6 with ASD will be recruited in our research, and divided into either
      experimental or control groups according to primary caregivers' (will be referred to as
      caregivers thereafter) decision whether to receive treatment in our hospital (NTUH) or not.
      Caregivers' decision is based on the convenience of transportation to NTUH. The children with
      ASD in the experimental group will receive family-centered occupational therapy three times a
      week for 6 months. The intervention goals, determined by discussing with caregivers, will
      often be the most important aspect of play skill and participation of children with ASD,
      which concern caregivers most. Caregivers will be equipped with the skills of guiding
      children with ASD in play and participation in their daily life. The outcome assessments will
      include : (1) The child's developmental skills and the severity of ASD as measured with
      Psychoeducational Profile, third edition (PEP-3) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
      respectively, (2) the child's play skill and participation as measured with Goal Attainment
      Scale (GAS), Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Chinese version (VABS-C) and Revised Knox
      Preschool Play Scale (RKPPS) respectively, (3) Family related factors as measured with
      Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI/SF), Family Outcomes Survey (FOS), Family Empowerment
      Scale (FES) and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME).

      Pre- and post-intervention comparison on the outcome measures within the experimental group,
      and group comparison on the outcome measures will be conducted to examine the effectiveness
      of family-centered occupational therapy. Results of the study will provide empirical evidence
      for evidence-based occupational therapy practice in the field of play skills and
      participation of children with ASD.
    

Intervention name(s): Family-centered occupational therapy; regular occupational therapy; intervention done outside our hospital
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Other
Intervention description(s): Caregivers will be equipped with the skills of guiding children with ASD in play and participation in their daily life.; regular occupational therapy; intervention done outside our hospital
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Family-centered; Autism spectrum disorder; Occupational therapy; Participation; Play