None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
After providing consent, if no contraindications to hydrotherapy are identified in the pre-study screening assessment, the child will be included in the study. A concealed randomized allocation procedure will assign each participant to either Group 1 or Group 2 (parent will select a sealed envelope allocating the child to a group). The duration of this study is 9 weeks. Group 1 will be asked to participate in a 45-min hydrotherapy class, 1x weekly for 4 weeks. Group 2; will receive no hydrotherapy intervention. At the end of 4 weeks, Group 1 will cease hydrotherapy, and Group 2 will commence hydrotherapy sessions. Hydrotherapy sessions will involve gentle therapeutic exercise in a warm, temperature controlled pool under the supervision of members of the research team. All parents/guardians will be required to complete the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) at weeks 0, 4 and 8. The CBCL is a short and meaningful questionnaire that assesses a range of concepts associated with children's behaviours. The CBCL, which has been validated for use with children with ASD, will determine any behavioural changes of participants during the study. To limit the bias from the researchers conducting the intervention, parents/guardians will be asked to place their completed questionnaires into an envelope which will be sealed by the participant and returned to a third investigator who will not be in contact with the participants or their parents. The Enjoyment Scale is a visual scale in which the participants can express their willingness participant in the hydrotherapy activities throughout the study. The Enjoyment Scale will be used at the end of each hydrotherapy session to monitor level of enjoyment and willingness to continue with hydrotherapy sessions.
Interventions
Hydrotherapy, which includes therapeutic exercises held in a warm pool for a relaxing effect, provided by physiotherapists. Each session will last approximately 45 minutes. The number of children in the water at a time will be no more than 4 children. Sessions will run 1-2 times weekly. This treatment intervention will be provided in addition to the children's current educational and therapy programs. Group 1 will complete 4 weeks of hydrotherapy while group 2 continues with their current progra
Hydrotherapy, which includes therapeutic exercises held in a warm pool for a relaxing effect, provided by physiotherapists. Each session will last approximately 45 minutes. The number of children in the water at a time will be no more than 4 children. Sessions will run 1-2 times weekly. This treatment intervention will be provided in addition to the children's current educational and therapy programs. Group 1 will complete 4 weeks of hydrotherapy while group 2 continues with their current programs. After 4 weeks, group 1 and 2 will switch, allowing group 2 to complete hydrotherapy and group 1 to return to their current programs without the addition of hydrotherapy.
Sponsors
Bond University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
6 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
The inclusion criteria for participants includes: a) a patient at Gateway Physiotherapy (Private Practice, Brisbane) or at a local GP clinic b) aged 6-12 years of age c) a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Exclusion criteria
The exclusion criteria for participants includes: a) patients with contraindications to hydrotherapy b) if the patient has a fear of water
Outcome results
None listed