Investigating SOcial Competence and Isolation in children with Autism taking part in LEGO-based therapy clubs In School Environments (I-SOCIALISE): study protocol

Abstract

IntroductionSocial skills training interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically focus on a skills deficit model rather than building on existing skills or encouraging the child to seek their own solutions. LEGO-based therapy is a child-oriented intervention to help improve social interactional skills and reduce isolation. The therapy is designed for school-age children with ASD and uses group-based play in a school setting to encourage peer relationships and social learning. Despite the reported potential benefits of LEGO-based therapy in a prior randomised controlled trial (RCT) and its adoption by many schools, the evidence to support its effectiveness on the social and emotional well-being of children with ASD is limited and includes no assessment of cost-effectiveness.Methods and analysisThis multicentre, pragmatic, cluster RCT will randomise 240 participants (aged 7–15 years) with a clinical diagnosis of ASD to receive usual care or LEGO-based therapy with usual care. Cluster randomisation will be conducted on a school level, randomising each school as opposed to each individual child within a school. All prospective participants will be screened for eligibility before assenting to the study (with parents giving informed consent on behalf of their child). All participants will be followed up at 20 and 52 weeks after randomisation to assess for social, emotional and behavioural changes. The primary outcome measure is the social skills subscale of the Social Skills Improvement System completed by a teacher or teaching assistant associated with participating children at the 20-week follow-up time point.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained via the University of York Research Ethics Committee. The results of the trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and will be disseminated to participating families, education practitioners and the third sector including voluntary and community organisations.Trial registration numberISRCTN64852382; Pre-results.

Acceptability of nurse-led reviews for inflammatory rheumatological conditions: A qualitative study

“…The TFA is fast gaining recognition in health research and has been used throughout studies in different ways, including: to highlight how their findings were in line with TFA constructs [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] ; in aspects of study design or analysis [26][27][28][29][30] ; and in protocol papers outlining how they will use the TFA in future. [31][32][33][34] Unlike this study, Nadarzynski et al 27 used the TFA to inform questions on a topic guide about acceptability of artificial intelligence led chatbox services; however, they did not analyse the data using the TFA.…”

Cost-utility analysis of LEGO based therapy for school children and young people with autism spectrum disorder: results from a randomised controlled trial

“…Details of I-SOCIALISE trial have been published elsewhere. 12 In short, CYP between the ages of seven and 15 years with a diagnosis of ASD were recruited from mainstream primary and secondary schools in the North of England between October 2018 and May 2019. Parents/guardians and schools were invited to speak on the phone or face-to-face to discuss the eligibility of CYP in their school and their potential involvement in the study.…”

“…Hence, the aim of this study was to access the cost-effectiveness of LEGO-based therapy. This paper reports the economic evaluation results of LEGO-based therapy for CYP with ASD alongside the Investigating SOcial Competence and Isolation in children with Autism taking part in LEGO-based therapy clubs In School Environments (I-SOCIALISE) trial 12…”

The Relationship Between Preschool Children’s Social Competence Skills and Their Ability to Communicate With Their Mothers

“…When the relevant literature is examined, it is observed that there are many studies conducted on social competence (Anthony et al, 2005;Chen & French, 2008;Cohn, 1990;Durmusoglu-Saltali & Arslan, 2012;Gresham & Reschly, 1987;Kilic, Kumandas & Calik Var, 2016;LaFreniere & et al, 2002;Ural, Guven, Sezer, Azkeskin & Yilmaz, 2015;Varley & et al, 2019). In these studies the study groups vary.…”

“…In these studies the study groups vary. It is seen that there are three different study groups which are formed with normally developing children (Hygen et al, 2019), children who are inadequate in terms of social competence and the third study group is formed with children having special needs (Varley et al, 2019;Yavuz, Selcuk & Korkmaz, 2017). This situation differentiates the focus of the studies.…”