Peer‐mediated intervention to improve play skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A feasibility study

Abstract

A RCT to investigate effectiveness of this intervention for improving play skills of children with ASD and their playmates are feasible.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Play-Based, Peer-Mediated Pragmatic Language Intervention for Children With Autism

“…Children with autism invited a typically developing peer to attend the trial as a playmate. Informed by pilot studies (Henning et al, 2016; Kent et al, 2018; Parsons et al, 2018), peers needed to be known to the child with autism (i.e., sibling or friend), and of a similar age; ideally within 2 years. A majority (75.8%) of playmates in the study were siblings of the children with autism.…”

“…The aforementioned intervention was found to significantly improve play skills in children with ADHD, with gains maintained at 2-month follow-up (Wilkes-Gillan et al, 2016). Recently, pilot studies have established the feasibility and appropriateness of an adapted version of this play-based intervention tailored to the needs of children with autism (Kent et al, 2018; Parsons et al, 2018). Preliminary effectiveness in the areas of pragmatic language performance and capacity were evaluated using the POM and the Social Emotional Evaluation (SEE; Wiig, 2008), respectively (Parsons et al, 2018).…”

Video modelling interventions improve social communication skills for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…() who found video modelling equally improved the social performance of children with ASD when compared to peer‐mediated intervention. However, other studies have used evidence‐based and emerging intervention approaches such as peer‐mediation and play in conjunction with video modelling to provide children with supported ongoing opportunities to practice the skills modelled in the video footage (Fragale, ; Kent et al ., ).…”

“…As a starting point, clinicians may need to consider using video modelling weekly with children. This may involve using variations of both video self‐ and pre‐taped modelling across more than one setting that the child experiences the skill difficulty (Kent, Cordier, Joosten, Wilkes‐Gillan & Bundy, ). While pre‐taped video footage has been found to require less editing and be as effective for children with ASD (Mason et al ., ), some children with autism may benefit from watching video footage of themselves due to reduced perspective‐taking skills.…”

Evaluating Playfulness in Children

“…Even without access to the developmental data for the ToP, the information gained from administering the ToP and TOES can be valuable for developing intervention strategies. A number of recent studies with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their peers or siblings have used the ToP as an outcome measure (e.g., Kent et al., 2018, 2020). These studies have shown that children with ASD consistently received lower scores on the TOP than typically developing peers, but also that their ToP scores improved with interventions designed to improve language and friendships.…”