Yoga as Mindful Movement: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Developmental Disability

• Registration Number: NCT07088003
• Lead Sponsor: University at Buffalo

Brief Summary

This study aimed to close an existing research gap by exploring the impact of a school-based mindful yoga program, Yoga as Mindful Movement (YMM), on foundational motor skills, social-emotional competence, classroom behavior, attention, and impulse control of students with various developmental disabilities in kindergarten, first-, and second-grade (K-2).

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2021-10-04
• Primary Completion: 2022-02-14
• Study Completion: 2022-03-02
• Status Verified: 2025-07
• Study First Submitted: 2025-07-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-07-23
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-07-23
• Study First Posted: 2025-07-28
• Last Update Posted: 2025-07-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 47

Inclusion Criteria

(a) Actively attending the participating school (indicating the presence of at least one developmental disability), (b) enrolled in kindergarten, first, or second grade, (c) part of a 6:1:3 classroom, (d) between the ages of 5 and 7, and (e) English-speaking

Exclusion Criteria

(a) Participant's family opted them out of the study, (b) participants was absent for three consecutive Yoga as Mindful Movement (YMM) classes

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition	From pre-enrollment (2 weeks before 8-week intervention) to post-enrollment (2 weeks after intervention's conclusion).	The Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition measures children's motor performance in physical tasks (e.g., threading beads, catching a ball, walking heel-to-toe) through direct observation. Quantifiable criteria (e.g., task completion time, number of successful attempts, number of errors) is measured.
Devereux Student Strengths Assessment-Mini	From pre-enrollment (2 weeks before 8-week intervention) to post-enrollment (2 weeks after intervention's conclusion).	This questionnaire asks assessors (classroom instructional staff) to rate how often a student displays certain behaviors (e.g., taking an active role in learning, making a suggestion or request in a polite way) in the past four weeks that correspond to social-emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal skills. Behaviors are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (Never) to 4 (Very Frequently). A higher score indicates more social-emotional competence.
Child Behavior Rating Scale	From pre-enrollment (2 weeks before 8-week intervention) to post-enrollment (2 weeks after intervention's conclusion).	The Child Behavior Rating Scale asks classroom instructional staff to indicate how often each student exhibits certain behaviors (e.g., returning to an unfinished task after interruption, attempting new challenging tasks) over the past week. This was completed using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Never) to 5 (Always), with a higher score indicating positive behavior.
Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders-Revised (HTKS-R) modified for Neurodiverse Learners (HTNL)	From pre-enrollment (2 weeks before 8-week intervention) to post-enrollment (2 weeks after intervention's conclusion).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Classroom Observations	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks	Post-YMM (or adapted PE) session classroom observations of participants' behavior were conducted by two members of the research team who were masked to study conditions and not part of the school's instructional staff. Behaviors in nine categories (i.e., disrupting one's own or others' learning activity, demonstrating aggression toward staff or peers, engaging in a task, being prompted by an adult, affect, and wearing or not wearing a face mask-required due to COVID-19) were tracked and coded quantitatively. During each 30-minute observation block, three students per classroom were observed twice in 5-minute increments, for a total of 10 minutes each. This structure was implemented to capture potential variations in students' behavior over time. Because most classrooms had six students, the remaining three students were observed in the same manner the next time an observer visited the classroom.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Cantalician Center; 🇺🇸 Buffalo, New York, United States