ASDactive: An Integrated Theory-based Intervention to Promote Habitual Physical Activity (ASDactive)

ASDactive: Feasibility of An Integrated Theory-based Intervention to Promote Habitual Physical Activity Behaviours in Autistic Youth

ASDactive is a theory-based behaviour change intervention aimed at improving the physical activity behaviours of autistic youth. The feasibility of the intervention will be tested through interviews with participants and stakeholders. "Proof of concept" will be tested through preliminary measures of physical activity measured before and after the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Sedentary Behavior; Autism; Asperger Syndrome; Physical Inactivity; Behavioral
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: ASDactive

Detailed Description

ASDactive is has been developed with guidance from autistic people and stakeholders in autism. It is informed by motivation and behaviour change theory, specifically habit theory. The intervention aims to improve the habitual exercise behaviours of autistic youth by focusing on their strengths and interests.

The feasibility study will run for 3-months, with a further 3-month follow-up period. Participants will attend motivational sessions in person where they will self-select physical activity habits to incorporate into their daily lives. They will be taught fundamental movement skills that they can use in their own leisure time. In-person sessions will be held once per fortnight with online sessions twice weekly. Participants will be encouraged to engage with as many sessions as possible, but part of the evaluation will assess uptake and engagement.

Self-determination theory and habit theory will underpin all aspects of the intervention and autistic strong interests will be embedded in the materials used.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Katherine Parsons; Phone Number: 07956986956; Email: kap34@aber.ac.uk

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Ceredigion
    • Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, United Kingdom, SY23 3UX
      • Recruiting
      • Katherine Parsons
      • Contact: Katherine c Parsons, BSc; Phone Number: 07956986956; Email: kap34@aber.ac.uk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Young people aged 10-24-years diagnosed with Level 1 autism or Asperger's syndrome

Exclusion Criteria:

• Physical conditions or injuries that might hinder physical activity participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ASDactive; Theoretically derived behaviour change intervention aimed at promoting habitual physical activity uptake	Behavioral: ASDactive; An integrated theory-based intervention to promote habitual physical activity behaviours in autistic youth

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of the intervention through its Adoption	Number of people engaging with the sessions each week	3- months
Feasibility through Implementation	Assessment of the fidelity of the delivery sessions. Two sessions will be recorded and reviewed by two assessors to ensure they are consistently delivered according to the protocol	3- months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-Report Habit Index	A scale which measures a combination of subjective estimates (never to always) and recall of behavioural frequency (number of times per week). These are then multiplied by stability of context measured by subjective evaluations (e.g., always in the same place to never in the same place). When frequency and stability are multiplied on the scale, a habit strength between 0-36 is given. Lower scores indicate poor levels of habit strength, higher scores indicated good habit strength.	3- and 6-months as a follow-up
Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale	Measures of basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) measured on a 7-point likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Lower scores indicate lower levels of perceived psychological needs being met and so worse outcomes.	3 months
International Physical Activity Questionnaire- Short form	self-report physical activity levels through open-ended questions surrounding individuals' last 7-day recall of physical activity	3- and -6 months as a follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Aberystwyth University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Katherine Parsons, Aberystwyth University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): October 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 7, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 20, 2023
• First Posted (Estimated): July 24, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): July 24, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 20, 2023
• Last Verified: July 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; exercise; autism; feasibility; aspergers; behavior change; implementation mapping
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Asperger Syndrome
• Other Study ID Numbers: 20880

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: IPD will be stored in Aberystwyth University's repository for 5-years. IPD will not include personal data belonging to participants but will include anonymised outcome data generated from self-report measures.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: 5-years
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Access can be granted via Aberystwyth University
• 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