Effectiveness of Dance Therapy for Social Play, Emotional Regulation, Group and Communication Skills of Students With Mild Autism in China: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 尚未招募
- 入组人数
- 96
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Change in Social Play Assessed by the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS)
研究概览
简要总结
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) in improving social play, emotional regulation, group skills, and communication skills among students with mild autism in China. The study will use a cluster randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest design. A total of 96 students aged 8-13 years will be recruited from special education schools in Linfen, Shanxi Province, China. Existing intact classes will serve as clusters and will be randomly assigned to either the DMT group or the Regular Art Class (RAC) control group. Both groups will participate in 12 weeks of intervention, conducted twice weekly, with each session lasting 45 minutes during regular art class time. Outcomes will be assessed before and after the intervention to evaluate and compare changes between the two groups.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 8 Years 至 13 Years（Child）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Aged between 8 and 13 years.
- •Have a pre-existing clinical diagnosis of mild Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as documented in school or medical records.
- •Have no other serious physical health issues, such as severe chronic diseases, major surgical history, or health problems that affect quality of life.
- •Have no prior experience with dance therapy.
- •Written informed consent is provided by the participant's parent or legal guardian.
排除标准
- •Children with serious physical health conditions that may affect their ability to participate in the study.
- •Children with prior experience in dance therapy.
- •Children whose parent or legal guardian does not provide written informed consent.
研究组 & 干预措施
Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) Group
Participants in this group will receive a 12-week Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) intervention, conducted twice weekly, with each session lasting 45 minutes during regular art class time.
干预措施: Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) (Behavioral)
Regular Art Class (RAC) Group
Participants in this group will participate in Regular Art Class (RAC) activities for 12 weeks, conducted twice weekly, with each session lasting 45 minutes during regular art class time.
干预措施: Regular Art Class (RAC) (Behavioral)
结局指标
主要结局
Change in Social Play Assessed by the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS)
时间窗: Baseline and immediately after the 12-week intervention
Social play will be assessed using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS), a 32-item teacher-rated measure of peer play behaviors. The PIPPS assesses three dimensions: Play Interaction, Play Disruption, and Play Disconnection. Items are rated on a four-point Likert scale (never, seldom, often, and always). Higher Play Interaction scores indicate more positive peer play interactions, whereas higher Play Disruption and Play Disconnection scores indicate greater disruptive behavior and disengagement from peer play, respectively. Scores will be calculated according to the established PIPPS scoring procedures.
Change in Emotional Regulation Assessed by the Chinese Version of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC-C)
时间窗: Baseline and immediately after the 12-week intervention
Emotional regulation will be assessed using the Chinese Version of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC-C), a 24-item rating scale completed by a parent, teacher, or other adult familiar with the child. The ERC-C assesses two dimensions: Emotion Regulation and Lability/Negativity. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (completely untrue) to 7 (completely true). Emotion Regulation reflects adaptive emotional regulation, whereas Lability/Negativity reflects emotional reactivity and dysregulation. Scores will be calculated according to the established scoring procedures.
Change in Group Skills Assessed by the Social Skills Subscale of the Chinese Version of the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS-C)
时间窗: Baseline and immediately after the 12-week intervention
Group skills will be assessed using the 32-item Social Skills subscale of the Chinese Version of the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS-C), completed by teachers or other school staff familiar with the child. The subscale assesses three dimensions: Interpersonal Skills, Self-Management Skills, and Academic Skills. Items are rated on a 5-point scale from 1 (never occurs) to 5 (always occurs). Higher scores indicate stronger social skills, including interpersonal interaction, self-management, and skills relevant to effective participation and functioning in group settings.
Change in Communication Skills Assessed by the Chinese Version of the Communication Matrix (CM-C)
时间窗: Baseline and immediately after the 12-week intervention
Communication skills will be assessed using the Chinese Version of the Communication Matrix (CM-C), a functional communication assessment for individuals with limited verbal or spoken communication. The assessment evaluates communication across seven developmental levels, ranging from pre-intentional behavior to abstract symbolic communication, and includes multiple forms of communication such as gestures, facial expressions, vocalizations, pictures, and other augmentative and alternative communication methods. For quantifying change, individual communication behaviors are scored as 0 (not used), 1 (emerging), or 2 (mastered). The total score ranges from 0 to 160, with higher scores indicating more developed functional communication skills.
次要结局
未报告次要终点
研究者
Samsilah Binti Roslan
Professor
Universiti Putra Malaysia