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

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

36

Phase

  • 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

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
Intervention / Treatment
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

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

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

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)

April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 10, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

June 10, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 23, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID 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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