ADAPT: Approach to Dance for Autism

Mount Sinai Health System

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Treatments: Behavioral: Ballet Class

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07216768

STUDY-25-00779

Details and patient eligibility

About

It is well documented that motor impairments are associated with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet, appropriate therapies are scarce. Dance has been shown to not only promote fine and gross motor skills, but also psychological well-being, cognition, and social participation in neurotypical dancers. Little research has been conducted to gauge if these benefits translate to those with ASD. Ballet for all Kids (BFAK) is a recreational dance program that has been teaching ballet to children with ASD for over a decade, but has yet to be empirically studied. This study expands on the goals of former STUDY 24-00144, Approach to Dance for Autism (ADAPT), NCT06424366, to elucidate the impact of participation in a recreational dance program on children with ASD.

Full description

The researchers aim to expand upon the pilot randomized trial (STUDY-24-00144) using BFAK's curriculum and structure to elucidate the impact of a recreational ballet program on the motor function and psychological, social, and behavioral skills of children with ASD. For the primary objective, the researchers hypothesize that after 12 weeks of participation in BFAK, children with ASD will improve their motor function. For the secondary objectives, the researchers hypothesize that after 12 weeks of participation in BFAK, children with ASD will improve their behavior and mood. This is a single site, randomized trial with 32 individuals diagnosed with ASD.

Participants will be placed in either Level 1 or Level 2 based on prior experience with BFAK. Participants returning from our pilot study will be placed into Level 2 at the discretion of the program coordinators, and all newly recruited participants will be placed in Level 1. BFAK ballet classes will begin in September and run for 45 minutes once a week for the intervention group. The waitlist control group will begin classes in January for 45 minutes once a week, ending in March 2026.

Enrollment: 32 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 6 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 6-12 years age
• understand English or Spanish
• Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis
• not currently taking ballet class

Exclusion criteria

- none

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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32 participants in 2 patient groups

Cohort 1 - Classes in fall

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomly assigned to cohort 1 will begin classes in fall 2025. Parents/guardians will complete surveys just one time over the 12 week intervention

Treatment:

Behavioral: Ballet Class

Cohort 2 - Classes in spring

Experimental group

Description:

This cohort is a waitlist control. Parents/guardians will complete all surveys during the fall while their children do not receive the intervention. They will then receive the intervention in the spring and surveys will be completed again.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Ballet Class