Outdoor Play: Peer Play Training in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Chiara Vignudelli, Vanessa Artoni, Monica Cattalini
A vast repertoire of studies on play related to autism spectrum disorders is available in literature, within which contributions related to outdoor play are very limited. The present study evaluates the effectiveness of implementing outdoor peer play training in increasing frequency and duration of functional play behaviours and social interactions during outdoor breaks. Participants were two children in the early school age range diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The teaching of the play curriculum was conducted through task analysis (Cooper, Heron, and Heward, 2007) by exposing the children to the outdoor environment, related materials, and guiding them to the presentation of functional and interactive modes of entertainment. A single-subject experimental design with pre- and post-probes was used. The dependent variable measured for both participants was the number of 10-second intervals (within a five-minute observation period) in which the child was functionally entertained in the outdoor environment. The frequency of interactions mediated by demand behaviour was also recorded for participants. The proposed intervention aimed to foster the development of play skills and social skills. An increase in functional play intervals was recorded for both children, and for participant B also an increase in spontaneous social interactions.
Keywords
Play, Outdoor space, Autism spectrum disorder, Communicative intentionality, Task analysis.
