Children first establish the foundations of subsequent social interactions by learning basic toy manipulations skills (Weiss and Harris, 2001). Once the child has established these skills in isolation, they can then be expanded into the symbolic and dramatic levels of play. For children who do not display these foundational toy play skills, the…

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are likely to demonstrate social impairments that contribute to challenging behaviors and academic difficulties. As a result, the task of improving social communication skills is a critical component to any educational program for this population. Scripting provides an evidence-based and versatile option for…

Children with autism spectrum disorder often demonstrate difficulty communicating with others, and this may affect the extent to which they can engage in contextually appropriate language during play. This study examined the effects of a social script-training intervention using generic picture cues on the number of contextually appropriate play…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often demonstrate difficulty communicating with others, and this may impact the extent to which they can engage in language during play. Previous researchers have used interventions to increase commenting during play with caregivers, siblings, and adult play partners. In these previous studies,…

The impact of social media on teens' mental health and development raises the need for educational interventions that equip them with the knowledge and skills to cope with dangerous situations. In spite of the growing effort to expand social media literacy among youngsters, social media interventions still rely on conventional methods that tend to…

Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain underrepresented in many core classes such as mathematics and science due to common characteristics that affect social interactions, behaviors, learning abilities, and communication. According to the DSM-5-TR (2013), a deficit in social communication, social reciprocity, and…

We used a script-fading package to teach children with autism to initiate social interactions across various activities in the school setting, and we programmed for generalization in the untrained home setting with a sibling. The three participants, ages 8 to 10 years, demonstrated deficits in social initiations with their peers. During baseline,…

Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate behavioral deficits and excesses that can adversely affect their play skills. Teaching children with ASD to use activity schedules with embedded scripts have led to increased appropriate game play with other children with autism and typically developing peers; however, there is sparse…

Research demonstrates young children with autism and other developmental disabilities can benefit from participation in play activities with peers. Play provides opportunities to increase social skills across developmental domains in an integrated manner and provides opportunities to develop a sense of belonging and friendship; these goals…