Play and Pre-Literacy Among Young Children

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Children begin to develop fundamental motor skills (FMS), such as running and kicking, and pre-literacy skills, such as rhyming, during early childhood. These skills are very important as they lay the foundation for more complex movements and literacy skill development later in life, support overall healthy development in several areas, and help contribute to the child's readiness for school. A child with strong motor skills is well equipped to lead a life with healthy levels of physical activity, positive social interactions, positive self-perceptions, and greater cognitive and language abilities. These skills will not develop optimally on their own so it is essential to teach, challenge, and reinforce them at an early age; often this learning takes place at home prior to entering school. Most research on this topic has primarily focused on school-aged children or children with specific developmental challenges and less is known about teaching motor and pre-literacy skills to young children and giving parents the tools to practice these skills at home with their children. The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of a motor and pre-literacy program, which emphasizes parental involvement, on motor, pre-literacy, social skills, cognitive abilities, and self-competence in 3 to 4 year old children with typical development.

Detailed Description
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The primary purpose of the intervention is to support the overall healthy development of children. Children will be recruited from families attending community agencies (e.g. Ontario Early Years Centres) in Hamilton. Interested parents will receive information flyers with the study team's contact information and instructions to contact the study team if they are interested in participating in the study. Interested parents will be screened for eligibility of their child. Information packages will be emailed or mailed to eligible families and will be followed-up with over the telephone in one week to obtain informed verbal consent. Baseline appointments will be booked for all eligible children. Informed written consent will be obtained at the baseline appointment before testing begins. Children will be randomized 1:1 to either the experimental or wait-list control group. Randomization will be completed using a computer algorithm. All children will be assessed pre- and post-program as well as at follow-up, 5 weeks after the completion of the program. Children in the wait-list control group will be assessed one additional time at baseline. The program will run for one hour per week for 10 consecutive weeks. Parents will be asked to complete a checklist each week indicating the number of times they practiced the activities at home. A sample size of 36 children is considered sufficient to provide 80% power to detect a medium effect size, with an alpha of 0.05. Eighteen children will be randomized to the experimental group and 18 children will be randomized to the wait-list control group.

Official Title
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Play and Pre-Literacy Among Young Children

Conditions
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Child Development

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Motor and pre-literacy program
* Other: Wait-list Comparison


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: typical development Exclusion Criteria: diagnosed with any developmental delay (e.g., autism, Developmental Coordination Disorder, etc.) or health conditions that may prohibit safe participation in the program (e.g., unstable heart condition).

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 36 Months
Maximum Age: 59 Months

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Motor and pre-literacy program<br>First group to receive the motor and pre-literacy program. | Behavioral: Motor and pre-literacy program<br>* The program will run for 60 minutes once per week for 10 consecutive weeks and will consist of three components: direct FMS instruction, unstructured exploratory free-play, and an interactive storybook reading activity. The curriculum and teaching strategies to be used for the first two segments of our intervention have been successfully implemented in previous research to improve the motor skills of 4 year old children with autism (Bremer, Balogh, & Lloyd, 2014). Specific strategies and books were selected from an existing evidence-based curriculum (Justice & McGuinty, 2009). There will be active involvement of at least one parent in the direct instruction and reading components.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Wait-list comparison<br>Second group to receive the motor and pre-literacy program after the experimental arm has completed the program. | Other: Wait-list Comparison<br>* The participants will not participate in the motor and pre-literacy program for 10 weeks after enrollment and will continue with their normal daily life without any intervention. After the experimental arm completes the motor and pre-literacy program, the wait-list group will receive the exact same motor and pre-literacy intervention.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline in Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 at 11-12 weeks |  | Baseline and 11-12 weeks | 
| Change from baseline in pre-literacy skills (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening: Preschool and Preschool Word and Print Awareness Test) at 11-12 weeks |  | Baseline and 11-12 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change from baseline in parental engagement in motor and pre-literacy activities at 15-16 weeks |  | Baseline and 15-16 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 at 15-16 weeks |  | Baseline and 15-16 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Preschool-Kindergarten version) scale at 15-16 weeks |  | Baseline and 15-16 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Preschool-Kindergarten version) scale at 11-12 weeks |  | Baseline and 11-12 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in pre-literacy skills (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening: Preschool and Preschool Word and Print Awareness Test) at 15-16 weeks |  | Baseline and 15-16 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®-Preschool Version (BRIEF®-P) scale at 15-16 weeks | Parent-reported measure of executive function | Baseline and 15-16 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®-Preschool Version (BRIEF®-P) scale at 11-12 weeks | Parent-reported measure of executive function | Baseline and 11-12 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Social Skills Improvement System (parent version) scale at 15-16 weeks | Parent-reported measure of social skills and behavioral problems | Baseline and 15-16 weeks. | 
| Change from baseline in Social Skills Improvement System (parent version) scale at 11-12 weeks | Parent-reported measure of social skills and behavioral problems | Baseline and 11-12 weeks. | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Motor Skills, Pre-literacy Skills, Early Intervention