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Telehealth based parental support over 6 months improves physical activity and sleep quality in children with autism:
Xin Shen1,2, Peiying Huang1,2, Qian Liu1,2
1Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Exercise Rehabilitation of Hunan Province, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Insights
This study shows that telehealth combined with parental support nearly doubled moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and improved sleep quality in autistic children. This family-based model offers a promising approach for enhancing health behaviors remotely.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Digital Health Interventions
Background:
- Sleep disturbances are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Telehealth presents a viable solution for delivering remote interventions to this population.
- Parental support is crucial for implementing effective home-based health behavior changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a novel family-based model using telehealth to enhance moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
- To improve sleep quality in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
- To explore the efficacy of remote interventions in addressing health behaviors in autistic children.
Main Methods:
- A 6-month randomized controlled trial involving 34 autistic children (mean age 15.7 years).
- Intervention group received standard physical education plus after-school telehealth support.
- Control group received only standard physical education; MVPA and sleep quality were assessed pre- and post-intervention.
Main Results:
- The intervention group demonstrated a near doubling of daily MVPA compared to the control group (Cohen's d=8.34).
- Significant improvements were observed in objective sleep metrics, including higher sleep efficiency (d=2.35) and reduced wake time (d=1.65), sleep fragmentation (d=0.80), and sleep latency (d=0.82).
- Subjective sleep assessments corroborated these findings, showing significant improvements (d=0.86).
Conclusions:
- Telehealth, when integrated with parental support, effectively overcomes barriers to enhancing health behaviors in autistic children.
- This innovative family-based model significantly improves both physical activity and sleep quality in this population.
- The approach shows potential for broader application in supporting other populations requiring remote health interventions.
Purpose:
Sleep disturbances are prevalent in autistic children. The emergence of telehealth offers new possibilities for remote professional intervention. By combining telehealth with parental support, this study aims to explore a novel family-based model to enhance moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and improve sleep quality in children with autism.
Methods:
Thirty-four autistic children (mean age = 15.7 years) were randomly assigned to either a 6-month intervention group or a control group. Both groups received standard physical education classes at school. The intervention group received additional after-school telehealth support. MVPA and sleep quality were assessed 1 week before the intervention and at the 6-month follow-up.
Results:
After 6 months, children in the intervention group nearly doubled their daily MVPA compared to the control group (Cohen's d = 8.34, CI95% = 6.17-10.52). Actigraphy-assessed sleep efficiency was notably higher (d = 2.35, CI95% = 1.44-3.26), and there were reductions in wake time (d = 1.65, CI95% = 0.84-2.46), sleep fragmentation (d = 0.80, CI95% = 0.07-1.52), and sleep latency (d = 0.82, CI95% = 0.09-1.54) were all reduced. These improvements in objective sleep metrics were corroborated by subjective assessments using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (d = 0.86, CI95% = 0.13-1.59).
Conclusions:
Telehealth combined with parental support addresses barriers to enhancing health behaviors at home. This innovative model not only improves after-school MVPA and sleep quality in autistic children but also holds significant potential for benefiting other populations requiring remote support.
Clinical Trial Registration:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06444659?id=NCT06444659&rank=1 (NCT06444659).
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