Theraplay Impact on Parents and Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Improvements in Affect, Joint Attention, and Social Cooperation

• Published in: International journal of play therapy 2018-01, Vol.27 (1), p.56-68
• Main Authors: Hiles Howard, Amanda R., Lindaman, Sandra, Copeland, Rachel, Cross, David R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attention; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Cooperation; Emotional Responses; Female; Human; Intervention; Male; Parent Child Relations; Play Therapy
• ISSN: 1555-6824; 1939-0629
• DOI: 10.1037/pla0000056

The goal of the study was to evaluate Theraplay using a sample of autistic children. Eight children diagnosed with mild to moderate autism participated in a 2-week intensive Theraplay intervention. The intervention consisted of each caregiver-child dyad having two 1-hr sessions each day over a 2-week period of time with a trained Theraplay therapist. Two series of measures were completed: (a) those completed during the intervention and (b) those completed during pretesting, posttesting 2 weeks following the intervention, and posttesting 3 months following the intervention. During the intervention, therapists completed a form following each session evaluating both the child and parent. Measures completed pre- and postintervention a caregiver-child interaction task (MIM) at pretesting and 2 posttesting time points. In order to evaluate change across time for the interaction task, a scoring system for the MIM interactions was adapted, per McKay and colleagues (1996). Data for intervention measures revealed that both parents and children significantly improved across session according to the therapist evaluation. These finding suggest that as the intervention progressed, both children and parents became better at interacting during the therapy sessions. Significant changes were observed in the MIM interaction tasks. Overall, caregiver-child dyads scored significantly higher on the MIM interaction task from pretesting to posttesting. Further, dyads scored significantly higher on several specific dimensions. The patterns of these findings lend support to the validity and usefulness of Theraplay as an intervention for special-needs children. Future studies should utilize larger and more diverse samples.