Impact of one-to-one instruction on activity participation, playfulness and enjoyment in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Rwanda: A quasi-experimental study.
Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder often have limited engagement in daily activities, particularly in low-resource settings. This study aimed to evaluate whether individualised therapist-led intervention increases activity participation, enjoyment, and playfulness among children with...
| Publicado en: | South African Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol. 56; no. 2; pp. 1 - 14 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa
Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196253013&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196253013 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 00382337 25J6 jtl: South African Journal of Occupational Therapy issn: 00382337 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 56 iid: 2 pid: 30274 pub: Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa artinfo: ui: 196253013 196253013 196253013 10.17159/2310-3833/2026/vol56no2a14 196253013 ppf: 1 ppct: 13 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Impact of one-to-one instruction on activity participation, playfulness and enjoyment in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Rwanda: A quasi-experimental study. aug: au: Uwihoreye, Potien Ndyowaawe Bram, Arron Barlow, Kate affil: Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, KG 11 Ave, Gasabo, Kigali, Rwanda sug: subj: Autism Spectrum Disorder Therapy Occupational Therapy Activities of Daily Living Evaluation Pleasure Evaluation Play and Playthings Evaluation Patient Preference Evaluation Human Rwanda Quasi-Experimental Studies Child, Preschool Child Male Female Clinical Assessment Tools Purposive Sample Data Analysis Software Paired T-Tests Chi Square Test Analysis of Variance Recreation Social Participation Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years Male Female ab: Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder often have limited engagement in daily activities, particularly in low-resource settings. This study aimed to evaluate whether individualised therapist-led intervention increases activity participation, enjoyment, and playfulness among children with autism compared with standard group-based care. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at two centres involving 86 children with autism spectrum disorder (n=86), aged 3-12 years. Participants were assigned to either the intervention group (n = 43) which received 9 months' one-to-one instruction or a comparison group (n = 43) which received standard care. The Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment, Children's Preferences for Activities, and the Test of Playfulness were used to evaluate the children both before and after the intervention. Results: Significant, statistically robust improvements were observed with one-on-one instruction in some activities. Participation increased across domains with the largest effects for quiet recreation and hobbies (Cohen's d ≈1.0-1.2; p<0.001) while enjoyment (p = 0.046, d = 0.45, ηp² = 0.21) and a marked improvement of playfulness (p<0.001). Preference shifts occurred within the intervention group but were not significantly different from controls after covariate adjustment. Conclusion: Individualised one -to-one instruction yielded meaningful participation gains and is promising for low-resource settings. Future research should include fidelity measurement, longer follow-up, and a larger sample to confirm effectiveness. Implications for Practice * One-to-one instruction should be considered as an effective option in clinical and school settings to increase participation and playfulness for children with autism spectrum disorder * Routine use of validated tools and fidelity audits is recommended to monitor outcomes, detect preference shifts, and guide individualised goal setting. * Interventions should target playfulness (extent, intensity, and skilfulness) alongside participation frequency because improvements in play quality drive meaningful engagement. * Pilot one-to-one instructional programmes in district centres, funding staff, training, and monitoring to broaden access in low-resource settings. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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