Water Competency Intervention in Autism

Part of paid clinical trials in Columbus, Ohio.

Sponsor
Ohio State University
Study ID
NCT07076264
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Autism Spectrum Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
5 Years - 9 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • AquOTic — OTHER
    AquOTic is an evidence-based, occupational therapy-led intervention designed to enhance water competency and swim safety skills in children on the autism spectrum. The 10-week program consists of weekly 60-minute group sessions, each including six children paired in a 1:1 ratio with an interventionist. Sessions follow a structured routine involving six rotating stations, targeting various swim and safety skills, with the flexibility for individualized support by the interventionist.

Study Details

AquOTic is an evidence-based, occupational therapy-led intervention designed to enhance water competency and swim safety skills in children on the autism spectrum. The 10-week program consists of weekly 60-minute group sessions, each including six children paired in a 1:1 ratio with an interventionist. Sessions follow a structured routine involving six rotating stations, targeting various swim and safety skills, with the flexibility for individualized support by the interventionist. Overall, this study has 3 major aims. The first aim evaluates the effectiveness of the AquOTic intervention in improving water competency and swim skills, while comparing outcomes between two implementation models: professional student interventionists (occupational and physical therapy students) and trained community-based interventionists. A total of 108 autistic children will be enrolled and randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) AquOTic with professional student interventionists, (2) AquOTic with community interventionists, or (3) a control group receiving no AquOTic intervention. The second aim explores the mediators and moderators of the intervention outcomes to assess fidelity and efficacy. The third aim identifies the cost and resources associated with AquOTic. A cost analysis will be conducted to evaluate the resources required for implementation and to inform the development of a scalable, cost-effective drowning prevention strategy for autistic populations.

Key Dates

Start date
Sep 19, 2025
Status verified
Nov 2025
Primary completion
Apr 30, 2029
Completion
Apr 30, 2029

Study Design

Enrollment
108 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: AquOTic with Professional Student Interventionist
    Participants in this arm will participate in the 10-week AquOTic intervention with their one to one interventionists being professional students (OT/PT students currently enrolled at OSU).
  • Experimental: AquOTic with Community Interventionists
    Participants in this arm will participate in the 10-week AquOTic intervention with their one to one interventionists being community interventionists (high school or undergraduate students in the community).
  • No Intervention: Control Group
    Participants will NOT receive AquOTic intervention and will engage in usual and customary water exposure.

Primary Outcome Measure

Water Orientation Test-Alyn (WOTA) 2 [ Time Frame: At baseline, immediately post-AquOTic, 6 months after termination of AquOTic, and 12 months after termination of AquOTic ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
The Ohio State UniversityColumbusOhio43210
Erika Kemp, OTD
[email protected]
(608) 335 - 9230
Jewel Crasta, PhD (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

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By research site
The Ohio State University· Columbus, OH

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