None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The overall aim of this research is to explore the effects of a program of sensory motor integration activities, The Learning Connections Schools Program, on young children’s behaviour, development and early academic skills. In order to achieve this aim, the objectives are to: *Conduct a cluster, pragmatic, unblinded, controlled trial to investigate the effect of a program of sensory motor integration activities on behaviour, development and academic skills in children in Prep Year and Year 1 of school. *Implement the sensory motor integration program with a group of children (the experiment / intervention group) in Prep Year and Year 1, across a variety of schools *Determine the effects of this program on behaviour, development and academic skills in that group of children by examining before and after measures *Compare the results from these children to the results for a control group of children in the same years of schooling, from similar schools, who have not participated in the sensory motor integration program. Sample All Brisbane Catholic Education primary schools have been invited to participate. Of those that volunteered, 12 will be randomly selected to participate using a computer-based random number generator selection process (randomisation). School Principals will then be required to consent to their school participating in the research. As well teachers will be asked to consent to participation in the research, and parents will be asked to consent for their children to undertake the sensory motor program in class and undertake the assessments as part of usual classroom activities. The final sample will consist of six (6) control schools (3 urban; 3 rural/semirural/regional) and six (6) experimental schools (3 urban; 3 rural/semirural/regional). Based on the average school with an intake PREP year of 50-60 pupils (with an average class size of n = 25-30), this will result in an expected sample size of between 600 to 720 pupils across 12 schools. Inclusion criteria *All Brisbane Catholic primary schools with PREP year and Year 1 classes. Exclusion criteria *Schools with existing sensory motor integration programs (for the control group)
Interventions
Sensory motor approach intervention; Sensory Integration.
The Learning Connections Schools Program was administered daily in the morning for twenty minutes, in the classroom by the classroom teacher with a cluster (class) of children at each school for two years. This program involves a set of mixed sensory motor development (sensorimotor approach intervention) and sensory integration activities, such as squirming, patterned crawling, patterned walking, and visuomotor activities including repet
Sensory motor approach intervention; Sensory Integration. The Learning Connections Schools Program was administered daily in the morning for twenty minutes, in the classroom by the classroom teacher with a cluster (class) of children at each school for two years. This program involves a set of mixed sensory motor development (sensorimotor approach intervention) and sensory integration activities, such as squirming, patterned crawling, patterned walking, and visuomotor activities including repetition of sight words while undertaking movements, as well as humming, and self-soothing activities. Teachers were provided with two days training by staff from The Learning Connections Centre, in the form of workshop group sessions with theoretical reading provided prior to the training, and audiovisual presentations during training. A further two days of follow up visits in the classroom were provided by Learning Connections Centre staff. The study is pragmatic, recognising the fluctuations in the usual school setting with no monitoring of adherence or fidelity. Testing on behavioural, development and academic skills was undertaken at the beginning of the first year, end of the first year and end of the second year of the trial.
Sponsors
Australian Catholic University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
4 Years to 6 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Catholic Schools in Southeast Queensland Australia with at least one Prep class. [Inclusion criteria pertain to schools with clusters of children in Prep year at the commencement of the study. No individual recruitment of children was undertaken]
Exclusion criteria
Schools that already have a sensory motor development program in place. [Exclusion criteria pertain to schools only. No individual recruitment of children was undertaken]
Outcome results
None listed