Occupational Therapy-Based Dance Program for Children With ADHD (OTDANCE-ADHD)

July 23, 2026 updated by: IREM CEYHAN

Effects of an Occupational Therapy-Based Dance Program on Cognitive-Motor Performance, Self-Esteem, Functional Balance, and Sensory Processing in Children With ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition that can affect children's attention, movement, balance, sensory processing, and self-esteem. These difficulties may interfere with participation in daily activities, school performance, and social interactions.

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate whether an occupational therapy-based dance program can improve cognitive-motor performance, self-esteem, functional balance, and sensory processing in children with ADHD. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving a structured 5-week occupational therapy-based dance program or a control group receiving no intervention during the study period. Outcomes will be assessed before and after the intervention using standardized assessment tools.

The study hypothesizes that children who participate in the occupational therapy-based dance program will demonstrate greater improvements in cognitive-motor performance, self-esteem, functional balance, and sensory processing than children in the control group.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
36

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Ankara
      • Ankara, Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye), 06100
        • Hacettepe University, Department of Occupational Therapy, Pediatric Unit

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children aged 6 to 12 years.
  • Diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to DSM-5 criteria by a qualified physician.
  • Ability to follow verbal instructions and participate in the intervention.
  • Written informed consent obtained from a parent or legal guardian.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of neurological, orthopedic, visual, or hearing impairments that could affect participation.
  • Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, or other major psychiatric disorders.
  • Participation in another structured rehabilitation or dance program during the study period.
  • Inability to complete the assessment procedures.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Occupational Therapy-Based Dance Program
Participants received a 5-week occupational therapy-based dance program consisting of two 45-minute sessions per week (10 sessions in total). The program included structured dance activities designed to improve cognitive-motor performance, self-esteem, functional balance, and sensory processing.
Behavioral: Occupational Therapy-Based Dance Program
Participants received a structured occupational therapy-based dance program for 5 weeks, consisting of two 45-minute sessions per week (10 sessions in total). The intervention included rhythm- and movement-based activities designed to improve cognitive-motor performance, self-esteem, functional balance, and sensory processing. Sessions were conducted by an occupational therapist following a standardized intervention protocol.
No Intervention: Control
Participants in the control group did not receive the occupational therapy-based dance program during the study period and continued their usual daily activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cognitive-Motor Performance
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention
Cognitive-motor performance assessed using the Praxis and Spatial Perception subdomains of the Dynamic Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment for Children (DOTCA-Ch).
Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-Esteem
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention
Self-esteem assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention
Functional Balance
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention
Functional balance assessed using the Pediatric Balance Scale.
Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention
Sensory Processing
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention
Sensory processing assessed using the Sensory Processing Measure Home Form.
Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
IREM CEYHAN

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 10, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 10, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 23, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 23, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • OTDANCE-ADHD-2026-001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data collected during the study may be shared with qualified researchers upon reasonable request and following approval by the study investigators. Requests will be reviewed based on scientific merit, ethical considerations, and the proposed use of the data.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be made available after publication of the primary study results. Requests for access should be submitted to the corresponding author and will be evaluated by the study investigators.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Qualified researchers with a scientifically valid proposal.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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