Approach to Dance for Autism (ADAPT)

Mount Sinai Health System

Status: Completed

Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Ballet for All Kids

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06424366

STUDY-24-00144

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will be a randomized trial that will examine the impact of a recreational ballet program on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research team are primarily interested in assessing changes in motor skills with secondary objectives focused on the social, psychological, and behavioral effects. The study will aim to collect data from 24 participants with ASD. Participants must be 7-12 years old, have a confirmed diagnosis of ASD, and speak English or Spanish. All participants will be enrolled in a 12 week ballet program. The ballet program is based off the curriculum and structure of Ballet for All Kids, a non-profit organization that has been tailoring ballet classes for children with ASD for over one decade. All research team members and volunteers will be trained in the BFAK program's curriculum and structure. Ballet instruction and all research materials will be provided in both English and Spanish. The research team will randomize the sample into an intervention group and waitlist control. The research team will measure outcomes through validated self-reports that caregivers will complete. For the intervention group, questionnaires will be completed at baseline and throughout the intervention (weeks 4, 8, and 12). For those in the waitlist control group, questionnaires will be completed at baseline, throughout the intervention group's ballet classes, and throughout their own participation in the program. Results of this study will help to determine if how a recreational ballet program can impact the motor, psychological, social, and behavioral skills of a child with ASD, informing the direction of future research and interventions.

Enrollment: 24 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 7 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
• Fluent in English or Spanish
• Between 7-12 years old

Exclusion criteria

• For any reason the individual appears unable to participate in study procedures per the Principal Investigator
• Not fluent in English or Spanish
• Unable to commit to at least 8 of the 12 scheduled intervention sessions

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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24 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Immediate Ballet Program

Experimental group

Description:

12 weeks of ballet classes immediately after recruitment and randomization concludes.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Ballet for All Kids

Deferred Ballet Program

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

12 weeks of ballet classes after the first arm completes the intervention. Participants in this arm will continue to complete self-reports while they wait to begin the intervention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Ballet for All Kids