A description of a mother's play guidance for her child with autism in the process of playing by the rules

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the strategies used by a mother with a child with autism during games activities with peers to provide the child with social skills.The research method of this study is ‘a qualitative single‐subject case study’. The participants in this research are a mother and her 9‐year‐old child with autism, one brother and three typically developing peers. The research data were collected through field notes, interviews, audio and videotape recordings during natural interactions between the mother and her child.The strategies the mother used were analysed using video records during games activities in a natural park. The interactions of the mother with her child were examined in the context of a hide‐and‐seek game. Micro‐ethnographic‐analysis techniques were used in the analysis of the video records. According to the research data, it was found that the mother with a child with autism made extensive use of 13 different verbal strategies and seven different non‐verbal strategies. It was observed that the mother guided her child and the group during the hide‐and‐seek game, arranged the environment of the games, carried out routine activities both at the beginning and at the end of the games and arranged the games in accordance with the abilities and preferences of the child. These applications bear a resemblance to the model of integrated game groups.As a result, the data from the present research reveal that a mother having a child with autism acts as a guide during the games and uses verbal and non‐verbal interaction strategies in this guidance process and by doing so contributes to the process of participation in the games by the child with autism and in the child's social interaction with his peers.