Effectiveness of Chinese Handwriting Intervention Program for Children With ASD

NCT ID: NCT05841511

Last Updated: 2024-03-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 22 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-04-07
• Study Completion Date: 2023-05-04

Brief Summary

This research aims to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of the newly developed Chinese handwriting performance intervention program

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Immediate treatment group

The immediate treatment group will receive the intervention in the first time period, while the wait-list control group will receive the intervention program during the second time period. Baseline and outcome evaluation will be accessed at three-time points: baseline assessment (1st week), assessment 1-midway (5th week), and assessment 2-final (10th week) in this study.

To establish and develop an efficient program, several theories were implemented into the intervention design to address handwriting problems in children with ASD, including psycho-geometric theory, motor learning theory, and cognitive training theories. The intervention will be delivered in thirty-six activities for visual perceptual, fine motor, and visual motor integration skill training integrated with the unique properties of the Chinese writing system. A total of 12 hours of intervention program will be conducted in eight sessions within four weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Chinese handwriting intervention program for children with ASD, named "Go Go Handwriting - ASD version"

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The intervention program was developed and finalized by a group of occupational therapist specialists in the pediatric field. Thirty-six 20-minute activities with twelve activities for each handwriting fundamental skill were designed in this program.

All intervention activities were designed based on the characteristic of Chinese characters and included different types of characters.

The activities designed will also be graded according to the following principle: (1) the similarities between the character given, (2) the complexity of the figure or character in the activities, and (3) the frequency and level of therapist assistance.

Furthermore, a playful and interesting intervention context will also be integratedinto the program with the design of the adventure journey of an astronaut to further facilitate the motivation and participation of the participants in our program.

Wait-list control group

The immediate treatment group will receive the intervention in the first time period, while the wait-list control group will receive the intervention program during the second time period. Baseline and outcome evaluation will be accessed at three-time points: baseline assessment (1st week), assessment 1-midway (5th week), and assessment 2-final (10th week) in this study.

To establish and develop an efficient program, several theories were implemented into the intervention design to address handwriting problems in children with ASD, including psycho-geometric theory, motor learning theory, and cognitive training theories. The intervention will be delivered in thirty-six activities for visual perceptual, fine motor, and visual motor integration skill training integrated with the unique properties of the Chinese writing system. A total of 12 hours of intervention program will be conducted in eight sessions within four weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Chinese handwriting intervention program for children with ASD, named "Go Go Handwriting - ASD version"

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The intervention program was developed and finalized by a group of occupational therapist specialists in the pediatric field. Thirty-six 20-minute activities with twelve activities for each handwriting fundamental skill were designed in this program.

All intervention activities were designed based on the characteristic of Chinese characters and included different types of characters.

The activities designed will also be graded according to the following principle: (1) the similarities between the character given, (2) the complexity of the figure or character in the activities, and (3) the frequency and level of therapist assistance.

Furthermore, a playful and interesting intervention context will also be integratedinto the program with the design of the adventure journey of an astronaut to further facilitate the motivation and participation of the participants in our program.

Interventions

Chinese handwriting intervention program for children with ASD, named "Go Go Handwriting - ASD version"

The intervention program was developed and finalized by a group of occupational therapist specialists in the pediatric field. Thirty-six 20-minute activities with twelve activities for each handwriting fundamental skill were designed in this program.

All intervention activities were designed based on the characteristic of Chinese characters and included different types of characters.

The activities designed will also be graded according to the following principle: (1) the similarities between the character given, (2) the complexity of the figure or character in the activities, and (3) the frequency and level of therapist assistance.

Furthermore, a playful and interesting intervention context will also be integratedinto the program with the design of the adventure journey of an astronaut to further facilitate the motivation and participation of the participants in our program.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. first or second grader

2. reported problems with poor handwriting legibility or performed less readable handwriting as claimed by their school teachers or caregivers

3. score at most 33 scores in overall legibility dimension or at-least 45 incorrect strokes in Chinese Handwriting Legibility Assessment for Children (CHLAC)

4. previously diagnosed with ASD

5. and score at least seven scores in Autism Behavior Checklist Taiwan Version (ABC-T) will be included in this study.

Exclusion Criteria

1. any physical disability affecting the upper limb

2. any hearing or visual impairment

3. intelligence quotient below 70 or previously diagnosed with intellectual disability

4. unable to follow the evaluation instruction.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 9 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Taiwan University Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

National Taiwan University, Department of Occupational Therapy

Taipei, , Taiwan

Countries

Taiwan

Other Identifiers

202302086RINB

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id