PP15.16 – 2465: Effective interventions in addressing play deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to explore which is the most effective type of social intervention to improve the reticent play behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders. Methods Thirty children with autism spectrum disorders aged between 3 and 6 participated in the study. They were diagnosed using Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 and they were randomly allocated to one of the three types of interventions (circle of friends, social stories and video modeling – 10 participants each). ANOVAs and Bonferroni tests were undertaken to examine the effect of each intervention in 4 different reticent play behaviors (onlooker role, wandering off, passive watching, and lonely/unoccupied) at 3 different stages (baseline, post-intervention and follow-up). Results It was found that the circle of friends was the most effective intervention in improving reticent play behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders at all phases, followed by social stories and video modeling that were less effective. Conclusions Given the urgent need to address the social skills deficits of children with autism spectrum disorders, it is essential to assess which interventions have wider and more long-lasting effects. It seems that the circle of friends is more promising in delivering this type of results, at least as far as reticent play behaviors are concerned, in comparison to social stories and video modeling. More studies are needed to assess its effectiveness in addressing other social skills deficits faced by children with autism spectrum disorders.