RecruitingACTRN12622000477729

Effects of “Square Stepping Exercise” on motor and cognitive skills in Autism Spectrum Disorders children and adolescents

Sponsor

Universidad de Extremadura

Enrollment

52 participants

Start Date

Feb 1, 2023

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Summary

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) diagnosis present cognitive, emotional, communicative, and social challenges, but also movement issues that affect their everyday activi-ties, learning and leisure. The Square Stepping Exercise (SSE) is a motor and cognitive training program, initially created to strengthen lower limbs in older adults, which use is spreading due to its advantages (e.g., balance or lower limbs strength improvements). We aim to present a study pro-tocol to assess the SSE effects on motor, sensory and cognitive skills in children and adolescents with ASD, between 6 and 16 years. A randomized clinical will be performed, recruiting 52 children and adolescents with ASD that will be distributed in two groups: experimental (n = 26) and control (n = 26) groups. The SSE training sessions will be held for 9 weeks (two times per week). The main variable will be balance, which will be measured with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, but secondary outcomes will include Sensory Processing, Attention and Executive Func-tions. Assessments will be carried out before and at the end of the training program implementation, including an additional follow-up one month later. If this program obtains positive results, it should be implemented in different settings (schools, clinics, associations, etc.) to improve the quality of movement and skills in children and adolescents with ASD, as it is an easy-to-use and structured tool.

Eligibility

Sex: Both males and femalesMin Age: 6 YearssMax Age: 16 Yearss

Plain Language Summary

Simplified for easier understanding

Children and teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties not just with social communication but also with balance, coordination, and body awareness. This study is testing whether a structured exercise program called Square Stepping Exercise (SSE) — which involves stepping across a grid mat in specific patterns — can improve balance, sensory processing, attention, and thinking skills in young people with ASD. SSE was originally developed to strengthen older adults' legs and balance, but researchers think its combination of physical movement and memorising step sequences could also benefit children with ASD. Participants are randomly assigned to either the SSE training group or a control group. The program runs for nine weeks with two sessions per week. Assessments are done before and after the program, and again one month later. Children and adolescents aged 6 to 16 with a clinical ASD diagnosis who can follow simple instructions and are physically able to exercise may be eligible. A parent or guardian must provide signed consent.

This summary was AI-generated to explain the trial in plain language. It is not medical advice. Always discuss eligibility with your doctor before enrolling in a clinical trial.

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Interventions

Experimental group: Participants will receive Square-Stepping Exercise (SSE) intervention, twice a week, for 9 weeks. The instructors will receive initial training on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (characteristics, strengths, motivation, and disruptive behaviour management techniques) and will be familiarized with the participants before starting the intervention. The training sessions will last approximately 30 minutes. The first activity will be a general warm-up consisting of mobility and balistic exercises of lower limbs muscles; then the participants will proceed to learn and execute the walking patterns selected for that day, and they all should be repeated 5 times on a mat especifically designed for SSE. The instructor will mark every attempt providing information about if it was correctly performed, performed with aids or with mistakes. The session will finish with a cool-down consisting of stretching of the main muscles of lower and upper limbs and trunk. All session will be drived by a professional of sports sciences and physical activity. Sessions will be delivered in group of no more than 10 children. The exercise will be only practiced during training sessions and under the supervision of instructors. At the end of each session, participants will be asked for their subjective perceived exertion though a Borg scale adapted to 10 ítems formulary. Adherence to intervention will be monitor by the instructors prior to start each session. All instructors know the SSE exercise and have experience teaching them in different populations with typical development and different diseases.