Family Centered Occupational Therapy on Play Skills and Participation of Children With ASD

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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
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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.

Official Title
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Effectiveness of Family Centered Occupational Therapy on Play Skills and Participation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Conditions
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Autism Spectrum Disorder

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Family-centered occupational therapy
* Behavioral: regular occupational therapy
* Other: intervention done outside our hospital


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: patient diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder age 2 6 years old Exclusion Criteria: patient with other disease, like seizure or other systemic disease

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 2 Years
Maximum Age: 6 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Triple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Treatment group<br>Patients who receive 'family-centered occupational therapy' in our hospital | Behavioral: Family-centered occupational therapy<br>* Caregivers will be equipped with the skills of guiding children with ASD in play and participation in their daily life.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control group 1<br>Patients who receive regular occupational therapy in our hospital | Behavioral: regular occupational therapy<br>* regular occupational therapy<br>|
| Other: Control group 2<br>Patients who don't receive intervention in our hospital | Other: intervention done outside our hospital<br>* intervention done outside our hospital<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) | GAS is a measure we used to assessed change between three time points (Change from Baseline and at 3 months and at 6 months). | pre-test before intervention and post-test after 3 months and 6 months of intervention | 
| Revised Knox Preschool Play Scale (RKPPS) | RKPPS is a measure we used to assessed change between two time points (Change from Baseline and at 6 months) | pre-test before intervention and post-test after 6 months of intervention | 
| Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-Chinese version (VABS-C) | VABS-C is a measure we used to assessed change between two time points (Change from Baseline and at 6 months) | pre-test before intervention and post-test after 6 months of intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI/SF) |  | pre-test and post-test after 6 month | 
| Family Outcomes Survey (FOS) |  | pre-test and post-test after 6 month | 
| Family Empowerment Scale (FES) |  | pre-test and post-test after 6 month | 
| Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) |  | pre-test and post-test after 6 month | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Family-centered, Autism spectrum disorder, Occupational therapy, Participation, Play