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A play-based intervention to improve the social play outcomes of children with Cerebral Palsy: A pairwise randomised controlled trial

Improving the social play outcomes of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) using a play-based intervention by comparing children with CP in the experimental group with children with CP in the wait-listed group.

Status
Withdrawn
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ANZCTR
Registry ID
ACTRN12614001026617
Enrollment
50
Registered
2014-09-24
Start date
2014-10-15
Completion date
2016-06-30
Last updated
2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have a number of limitations that contribute to social play and pragmatic language restrictions. Effective social play skills and pragmatic language are necessary for psychosocial development. Well developed social emotional skills and good quality relationships are protective factors that promote resilience and quality of life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-to-peer play based intervention to improve social play skills and pragmatic language in children with unilateral (i.e. affecting one side of the body) CP. It is expected that following the intervention children with UCP will have improved social play and communication skills and improved ability to establish and maintain friendships. Findings from this study will be directly translated into clinical practice.

Interventions

The intervention involves a peer-peer play-based intervention involving self-, therapist, and peer modelling. All intervention sessions will be video-recorded to facilitate self-modelling. The researcher will begin each clinic session by showing the children video footage of themselves playing from the previous week. During the self-modelling, children will observe and reflect on edited video footage of their social play from the previous week. The researcher will use video feedback techniques by discussing the segments of their past play performance. The researcher will then use video feed-forward techniques by facilitating a problem-solving discussion with the children, helping them to develop strategies to pre-empt the changes required for future social skill development to occur. To conclude, the researcher will present the children with three key summary points to remember and pre-empt as they enter the playroom. The parent/caregiver will observe these sessions through use of a computer monitor in an adjoining room. The researcher will discuss the techniques they used with the caregiver to ensure skills transfer. The duration between treatments for the treatment and control group is 3 months. The intervention involves a clinic component which includes 1x1 hour session per week for 10 weeks and a home component which involves 1x1 hour session per week for 10 weeks.

Sponsors

Curtin University
Lead SponsorUniversity

Study design

Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
5 Years to 11 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Unilateral Cerebral Palsy The typically developing playmates constitute healthy volunteers in this study.

Exclusion criteria

Intellectual disability Other types of CP

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ANZCTR · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026