Numerous research studies have been completed on the topic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As individuals with this diagnosis are frequently treated by occupational therapists, this review will focus on research that has been completed on ASD that will provide insights into the understanding and treatment of children on the spectrum.

The current study evaluated the play behaviors of children with disabilities (e.g., developmental delays, specific language impairment) who participated in a social communication intervention targeting skills such as initiations, responses, name use, proximity, and turn-taking. Three children who were enrolled in an inclusive classroom met the…

Children with highly disruptive behavior present problems for their peers and are often a heavy burden to the schools, teachers, counselors, and other adults who care for them. Without successful intervention, such children certainly face lives of high risk, emotional pain, and ever-increasing difficulty; from a humanistic perspective, such an…

This study examines the role of one component of emotion regulation, behavioral control, in the growth of children's early behavior problems by examining whether increases in parental positive behavior support brought about by a family-centered intervention were associated with greater child behavioral control, and whether greater behavioral…

This pilot study investigated the impact of group activity play therapy (GAPT) on displaced orphans aged 10 to 12 years living in a large children's village in Uganda. Teachers and housemothers identified 60 preadolescents exhibiting clinical levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The participants' ethnicity was African and…

This study examined the effects that a multi-component intervention had on play behaviors and mean length of utterance (MLU) of eight Head Start children at risk for language delays and social skill development. The intervention consisted of three components: (a) a planning period included reading a story book that illustrated the play theme and…