Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have significant difficulty in social functioning to include engaging in natural play with peers. Many children with ASD exhibit significantly less interactive play and more physiological stress during benign social encounters with same-age peers on a playground. Theatrical role-playing and performance with expert role models may provide a unique opportunity for children with ASD to learn to engage with other children in a safe, supportive environment. SENSE Theatre® is a peer-mediated, theater-based program aimed at improving social competence in youth with ASD. Previous studies have shown significant improvements in social and communication skills following SENSE Theatre® intervention. The current project examined play with novel peers and self-reported anxiety before and after participation in SENSE Theatre®. Participants included 77 children between 8 and 16 years with high-functioning (IQ ≥ 70) ASD. The combined sample of three cohorts was randomized to the experimental (EXP, N = 44) or waitlist control (WLC, N = 33) group. Participants in the EXP group received 40 h (10, 4-h sessions) of SENSE Theatre®. The Peer Interaction Paradigm (PIP), an ecologically valid measure of natural play, was administered before and after the intervention. Group Play and Self Play on the playground equipment during solicited (T4) and unsolicited (T1) play were used in the current study. The State Trait Anxiety Scale for Children (STAIC; Spielberger et al., 1983) was used to measure self-reported current and persistent anxiety, respectively. Following treatment, children in the EXP group engaged in significantly more Group Play with novel peers [F(2,73) = 7.78, p = 0.007] and much less Self Play [F(2,73) = 6.70, p = 0.01] during solicited play compared to the WLC group. Regression analysis revealed that pretreatment play and group status were significant predictors of solicited Group Play. Children in the EXP group reported significantly less Trait anxiety following intervention [F(2,71) = 6.87, p = 0.01]; however, State anxiety was comparable. Results corroborate previous findings of significant changes in social and play behavior in children with ASD following the peer-mediated, theater-based intervention. Acting and theatrical performance with supportive role models facilitates social engagement in everyday settings with novel peers and reductions in self-reported anxiety.
Highlights
Play is notoriously difficult to define but is generally thought to incorporate flexibility, non-literality, pleasure, spontaneity, and active engagement (Krasnor and Pepler, 1980; Garvey, 1999)
Children who participated in the SENSE Theatre R intervention compared to a waitlist control (WLC) group demonstrated increased Group Play during playground interactions with novel peers
These results suggest that engaging with typically developing (TD) peers during the theater activities may increase motivation for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to participate in subsequent play activities
Summary
Play is notoriously difficult to define but is generally thought to incorporate flexibility, non-literality, pleasure, spontaneity, and active engagement (Krasnor and Pepler, 1980; Garvey, 1999). Play cultivates social referencing, role-taking, and symbolism (Lillard et al, 2011). Various social communication skills such as conflict resolution, negotiation (Sawyer, 1997; Frost, 1998; Ginsburg, 2007), and perspective taking (Burns and Brainerd, 1979; Jordan, 2003) are built through play. Laakso et al (1999) found that children’s symbolic play abilities predicted later language comprehension skills. In this context, the definition by Leslie (1988) is adopted in which pretend play can have three basic forms or properties to include (a) object substitution, (b) attribution of false properties, or (c) imagining absent objects (Leslie, 1988). Pretend play often incorporates communication (Garvey, 1982), such that conversational skills are developed within play between play partners (Sawyer, 1997)
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