Journal Of Applied Behavior Analysis

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

“Teaching Play Skills to Children with Autism Using Visually Structured Task”, written by Patricia K. Hampshire and Jack J. Hourcade, focuses on teaching a 7-year-old boy named Keith that has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play skills. Keith’s special education teacher, Ms. Pool, and his first grade general education teacher, Ms. Carter, have been concerned with Keith’s social isolation in the classroom and believe that he would gain a great deal if he strengthened his social interaction with peers and developed more suitable play behaviors with toys.

Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo a psychotherapist uses DnD as a tool to teach children with autism how to interact in a social environment. “Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo, the Clinical Director of Take This, uses D&D to help teens who are struggling to adapt solid social skills learn those tough-to-teach aspects of socialization like appropriate communication, forming friendships, empathy, and other social nuances.” (Boccamazzo, 2016). Dr. Boccamazzo seems to be only one of his type to use DnD as a therapy tool. Dr. Boccamazzo uses DnD to help children with mental disabilities in order for them to adapt to social environments. The future of “gaming therapy” is bright as more and more research is being aimed towards games such as DnD. Something special about DnD is that the players do not play as themselves but as a made up character, because of this many of the children feel much more comfortable in another character’s embodiment. “Kids who struggle to react appropriately in “regular” social situations often feel more at ease when interacting in a roleplaying setting because they are responding to others under the guise of their character rather than themselves.” (Boccamazzo, 2016). Not only do children feel more comfortable in another person’s body, they feel more confident as they are able to believe in their actions. While in real life there are consequences when one

Discussion: A systematic observational paradigm was used in this study to measure and compare preschool aged children with developmental delays as well as those with and without autism and their levels of play skills. The results of the study showed that there was no difference between the two groups of children in their play levels or in their interest in playing with different toys. The data did show however, a common likeliness across the groups in acts of emergence and what they mastered in the symbolic play, as well as a failure in being able to find a difference in within diversity of object play in the groups. The study showed that children with autism performed the play acts as well as the children that had other developmental disabilities

The purpose behind the article “Efficacy of Brief Quantitative Measures of Play for Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Rodman et al. (2010) was to use the measures from a study done by Yoder and Stone in 2006 and another study by Yoder in 2006, that had been shown to be associated with communication and language and determine if those measures could be used to validly predict an Autism Spectrum diagnosis. This study was the first of its type, by comparing the performance on these measures of children with ASD to those of typically developing children. In order to make the case of the studies importance the authors provided the readers with several facts. Such as, the need for screening measures that are quick and effective for detecting ASD with young children (Rodman et al., 2010). Other facts like, clinical judgment remaining the gold standard in diagnosing ASD being problematic in its subjectivity. Another was a statistical fact from a study done by Wiggins et al, in 2006 that identified that 24% of 115 eight year old children had not received their diagnosis of ASD until they were of school age, when

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder have “deficits in communication, and have difficulty forming social relationships, responding appropriately to social cues, and sharing social experiences with others” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There are several researched based strategies to help these individuals. Video Modeling utilizes video recording and display equipment to provide a visual model of appropriate behavior. There are several forms of video modeling: basic video modeling, video self-modeling, point-of-view video modeling, and video prompting. All have proven effective in teaching social skills. Social Stories are written to help individuals learn a new skill or master a situation that has been difficult

Play is an occupation in which all children should engage in to enhance development. Play should be enjoyable, fun, impulsive and naturally motivating. When children engage in play, they are able to discover their surrounding environments, experiment with ideas, and learn from experience (Garvey, 1977; Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983; Smith & Vollstedt, 1985, as cited by Mastrangelo, 2009). Due to social, cognitive and emotional difficulties, children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are unable to develop play skills at the same rate as children without

Individuals with autism demonstrate delays or deficits in social interaction and behaviours. Autism is apparent from early childhood, but can emerge in early adulthood. It is associated with a wide range of possible causes, but genetic factors are the main causes. Children with autism have impairments in cognition, language delays, and lack of or poor social interactions. Lack of communication may force these children to adopt repetitive behaviours such as self-inflicted injuries and violence. The teaching process requires interventions that address the repetitive behaviours, skill development, and play

Viewing this book as a professional, areas of occupational therapy practice that are well suited in correlation with autism are pediatrics, in patient rehab, outpatient rehab, home health, and mental health. Autism can be treated in many different settings, throughout the life span of the individual, this book provides the therapist with key insight straight from an autistic perspective on how they act, why they act, what they like and what they

This article is relevant to my own studies because in class we have touched on a few of the topics addressed in this article. Because the interventions that were used were successful in the study using social stories is something I can do to help students with autism who have a harder time with decision making and appropriate play. I want the best for my students in my class so if needed I will go the extra mile to help them succeed. The social stories seemed to be used as a guide to help the children make the right choice. Social stories could be used in different areas that some children might have needs in. The stories are made up of visual pictures to help students understand what is being said and also the main character is someone the

Over the last two decades, there has been an increase of numbers in children receiving a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with incidence rates reaching 1 in 68 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Autism is defined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), (2000) as a chronic and pervasive neurological disorder characterized by deficits in social skills, social communication, and stereotypical/restricted and repetitive behaviors. Because children with autism exhibit significant deficits in their ability to spontaneously imitate the play actions and the descriptive gestures of others, Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT), a naturalistic imitation intervention approach has focused on teaching spontaneous imitation skills during play (Ingersoll & Gergans, 2007, Walton & Ingersoll, 2012).

Children with autism demonstrate impairments in social interactions, social reciprocity, relationships, verbal and nonverbal communication, imitation, and play skills (American Psychiatric Association, 2001). However, children diagnosed with autism have been demonstrated to experience deficiencies to initiate or maintain conversations with their peers, in particular those activities that are interesting for them. In recent studies, interventionists have been shown to implement methods to teach social imitations and interactions to this group of children.Using video modeling intervention to teach social skills to children with autism has demonstrated throughout several years to be a useful intervention to teach communication skills to children

Motor Imitation was used as my first antecedent. Generally children with autism need to be taught ‘imitation skills’ as these skills don’t always develop naturally with these children. Since imitation is vital for language development, as well as for some other skills, it was important for imitation to be included in

In this article reviewed titled “Play Assessments and Developmental Skills in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders” written by J. Pierucci, A. Barber, A. Gilpin, M. Crisler, and L. Klinger research diagnostic evaluations that include the assessment of play. Understanding the role of play in regards to the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is essential in developing communication skills to enhance social interaction is essential. The authors examined various aspects of play, draw from play competencies, and design interventions for successful outcomes of goals. In addition, how to measure the correlation between play and developmental skills that correlates with specific play composites. These essential dynamics provided correlation between play behaviors in the development of social skills of children with autism.

While children with Autism exhibit difficulties empathizing with others, and they pay less attention to others’ emotional displays then their typically developing peers (Hooper & Umansky, 2014). Recess provides time in the day for this emotional growth in students with Autism and EBDB. Play can help young children organize and manage their feelings, and for children who do not verbal express themselves, such as children with Autism, play can be used to allow them to express their feelings, conflicts, and concerns. Through social interactions with typical peers, students with EBDB and Autism practice emotional regulation, as well as emotional understanding. Both of these important skills are used throughout the child’s life as they grow, and for children with EBDB and Autism, additional support and practice is needed in order for mastery.