Water Competency Intervention in Autism
ConditionAutism Spectrum Disorders
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age5-9
SponsorOhio State University
About this trial
AquOTic is an evidence-based, occupational therapy-led intervention designed to enhance water competency and swim safety skills in children on the autism spectrum. The 10-week program consists of weekly 60-minute group sessions, each including six children paired in a 1:1 ratio with an interventionist. Sessions follow a structured routine involving six rotating stations, targeting various swim and safety skills, with the flexibility for individualized support by the interventionist.
Overall, this study has 3 major aims. The first aim evaluates the effectiveness of the AquOTic intervention in improving water competency and swim skills, while comparing outcomes between two implementation models: professional student interventionists (occupational and physical therapy students) and trained community-based interventionists. A total of 108 autistic children will be enrolled and randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) AquOTic with professional student interventionists, (2) AquOTic with community interventionists, or (3) a control group receiving no AquOTic intervention. The second aim explores the mediators and moderators of the intervention outcomes to assess fidelity and efficacy. The third aim identifies the cost and resources associated with AquOTic. A cost analysis will be conducted to evaluate the resources required for implementation and to inform the development of a scalable, cost-effective drowning prevention strategy for autistic populations.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
Educational or medical diagnosis of autism
Age between 5 - 9 years
Having vision and hearing within normal limits with or without corrective modifications
Disqualifiers
Children who demonstrate swim proficiency, as defined by the ability to tread water for 1 minute or move the body through the water without flotation
Open wounds or infectious skin diseases
Allergy to chlorine
Severe co-occurring motor impairments or neurological conditions such as uncontrolled seizures, Rett's or Angelman's syndrome
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
AquOTic
Other interventionAquOTic is an evidence-based, occupational therapy-led intervention designed to enhance water competency and swim safety skills in children on the autism spectrum. The 10-week program consists of weekly 60-minute group sessions, each including six children paired in a 1:1 ratio with an interventionist. Sessions follow a structured routine involving six rotating stations, targeting various swim and safety skills, with the flexibility for individualized support by the interventionist.
Treatment groups
108 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groupsGroup A: AquOTic with Professional Student InterventionistExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: AquOTic with Community InterventionistsExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group C: Control GroupNo intervention 0 interventions
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Water Orientation Test-Alyn (WOTA) 2
The WOTA2 measures a child's mental adaptation, adjustment to the pool, postural balance, and the ability to move and change position in the water, based on the Halliwick concept. WOTA2 assesses 27 swim skills scored on a 0-3 scale with a minimal detectable change score of 11.5. Higher scores indicate better skills. WOTA2 has high test-retest reliability (ICC=.97) and is validated for children with autism-like characteristics.
Time frame
At baseline, immediately post-AquOTic, 6 months after termination of AquOTic, and 12 months after termination of AquOTicSecondary outcomes
1
Water Orientation Test-Alyn (WOTA) 1
WOTA1 measures a child's mental adaptation, adjustment to the pool, postural balance, and the ability to move and change position in the water, based on the Halliwick concept. WOTA1 assesses 13 swim skills on a 1-4 scale with a minimal detectable change score of 4.5.
Time frame
At baseline, immediately post-AquOTic, 6 months after termination of AquOTic, and 12 months after termination of AquOTic2
Water Competency Checklist (WCC)
WCC was developed by the AquOTic team and incorporates additional skills not on the WOTA that are considered necessary for water competence. These include jumping in and resurfacing, treading water, and turning around in the water. This checklist is a compilation of items from other swim checklists such as those used by the American Red Cross and clinical trials of swim interventions in autism
Time frame
At baseline, immediately post-AquOTic, 6 months after termination of AquOTic, and 12 months after termination of AquOTic3
Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)
COPM is an individualized standardized outcome measure sensitive to change in performance over time. The COPM has been adapted for use in pediatric clinical trials for caregivers of children with disabilities. This measure will be administered by an occupational therapist via a semi-structured interview in which caregivers will identify 3-5 functional goals related to swim performance and water safety. Caregivers will rate how well their child performed each goal (COPM - Performance), and how satisfied they are with their child's performance (COPM - Satisfaction). The same caregiver will be interviewed at pre- and post-test assessments for the AquOTic program. A change of 2 or more points in each scale of the COPM is considered a minimum clinically important difference (MCID). The adapted COPM has high internal consistency (.86 - .88) with content and construct validity.
Time frame
At baseline, immediately post-AquOTic, 6 months after termination of AquOTic, and 12 months after termination of AquOTicSponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov