Effectiveness of Aquatic Occupational Therapy to Support Water Competency of Children on the Autism Spectrum.

Children on the autism spectrum showed significantly higher Goal Attainment Scaling T scores post-AquOTic compared with baseline.

• Effect size d = 2.1-2.3 was reported for GAS T scores
• GAS was completed at both baseline and post-intervention
• Sample consisted of N = 37 children on the autism spectrum (28 boys), ages 5 to 9 years
• The intervention was a manualized 10-week occupational therapy-based water competency program

Children showed significantly higher COPM Performance and Satisfaction scores post-AquOTic compared with baseline.

• Effect size d = 2.1-2.3 was reported for COPM Performance and Satisfaction scores
• The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was completed at baseline and post-intervention
• COPM captured caregiver-based perceptions of children's performance and satisfaction with identified goals
• N = 37 children participated in the pre-post cohort design based on a larger randomized controlled trial

Motor skills emerged as the most common goal category for both caregiver- and therapist-derived water competency goals.

• All goals were mapped onto the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (4th ed.)
• Motor skills was the most common category, followed by safety awareness in the aquatic environment and sensory functions
• Both caregiver-identified goals and therapist-developed goals were analyzed
• Goals addressed water competency encompassing both water safety and swim skills

AquOTic is a manualized 10-week occupational therapy-based water competency intervention designed specifically for children on the autism spectrum.

• The intervention incorporates evidence-based therapeutic techniques
• It embeds individualized therapy using interventionist-child dyads in a group environment
• The intervention was delivered at a County Board of Developmental Disabilities therapy pool
• Children on the autism spectrum represent a group at high risk for drowning, creating a critical need for tailored water competency interventions

Children on the autism spectrum were identified as being at high risk for drowning, motivating the development of tailored water competency interventions.

• The study was framed around a critical need for therapeutic water competency interventions tailored to children on the autism spectrum
• Water competency was defined as encompassing both water safety and swim skills
• The study recruited children ages 5 to 9 years from the local community
• The study design was a pre-post cohort based on a larger randomized controlled trial