Mothers’ Scaffolding Techniques Used During Play in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Play allows toddlers to appropriately engage with others, and an important facilitator of play is scaffolding. Researchers demonstrate that parents of toddlers with typical development scaffold their play beginning at 12 months. However, this pattern is unknown in parents of toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study (n = 3; M age = 26.5 months) examined mothers’ scaffolding techniques used during a social-communication intervention for toddlers with ASD while also assessing the toddlers’ play. Mothers’ scaffolding techniques (comments, requests, prompts) were explored during mother-toddler play samples. Results showed that mothers’ scaffolding techniques increased, and all toddlers exhibited pretend play by the end of intervention. Thus, scaffolding during play is an important contribution in spurring toddlers with ASD to reach their potential.