Autism, Sport and Society: Conversations With Parents

February 17, 2020 updated by: Midlands Psychology CIC
In order to examine the experience of children with ASC in physical activity at home, at school, and in the local community, parents of children with ASC will be asked a number of open ended interview questions. To see if these experiences are unique to parents of children ASC, parents of non-ASC children will also be interviewed to allow for these perspectives to be compared and contrasted.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Detailed Description

Background:

77% of boys and 80% of girls aged 5-15 in the UK fall below the national physical activity guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day.

Research shows children with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) are even less physically active than their neurotypical, age related peers and as a result are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, low self-esteem and depression. This physical activity gap has been shown to increase as children get older.

If a gap between the activity levels of children with ASC and the so called 'normal population' exists, there are a number of possible explanations for why this might be. Research points to either some facet of the autism spectrum causing difficulties engaging with a certain feature of a physical activity i.e. the physical environment in which activities take place which is difficult from the sensory point of view (noisy, busy, brightly lit) or lack of specific provision tailored towards children with ASC readily available in the local community. With repeated negative experiences, children and adults with ASC may come to believe these opportunities are 'not for them'.

To date, there has been limited research conducted on the attitudes of young people with ASC to sport and physical activity. The research that has been conducted has mainly focused on interviewing the young people themselves to gather their perspectives. However, little is known about their parent's perceptions of sports participation or if parents value being physically active themselves. This is of particular interest as parental modelling has been shown to be a predictor of children's PA behaviours with a positive correlation between adult and child PA levels. Furthermore, parents may offer additional insights into barriers of physical activity beyond that of their children and this information could help to advise the sports sector on how clubs and leisure centres could offer a better experience for children with ASC.

In order to examine the experience of children with ASC in physical activity at home, at school, and in the local community, parents of children with ASC will be asked a number of open ended interview questions. To see if these experiences are unique to parents of children ASC, parents of non-ASC children will also be interviewed to allow for these perspectives to be compared and contrasted.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

30

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The sample will consist of 15 parents/carers of children with an ASC between the ages of 5-15 and 15 parents/carers of children without ASC between the ages of 5-15.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Parent of child with an Autism Spectrum Condition aged 5-15
  • Parent of child aged 5-15

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Parents with children with autism older than 15 or younger than 5
  • Parents of children older than 15 or younger than 5

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

  • Observational Models: Other
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Child Physical Activity and Parent Attitudes to Sport: Parent Questionnaire
Time Frame: 1 year

Qualitative interview for parents of children with and without autism spectrum disorders to examine perceptions of their chid's physical activity at school, at home and in the local community. To be conducted on one occasion.

The interview guide is grouped into 4 sections: current activity levels, parent perceptions on activity and their local community, physical activity in school, and opinions on the sports sector and how it can be changed.

Examples of questions include "What types of physical activity does your child take part in currently?" and "What has been your child's experiences of P.E in school?"
1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Midlands Psychology CIC

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: James Smolinski, MSc, Midlands Psychology CIC

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Anticipated)

March 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

August 1, 2020

Study Completion (Anticipated)

August 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 17, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

February 19, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 19, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2020

Last Verified

February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MP/KA-2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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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