Play is a universal activity that is an integral part of childhood experiences and aids in the development of important skills. While most children naturally engage in play, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not follow the typical pattern of play development and often exhibit delays in play skills. One of the defining characteristics…

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…

Children with developmental disabilities may engage in less frequent and more repetitious language than peers with typical development. Scripts have been used to increase communication by teaching one or more specific statements and then fading the scripts. In the current study, preschoolers with developmental disabilities experienced a novel…

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…

Children with autism often engage in repetitive play with little variation in the actions performed or items used. This study examined the use of video modeling with scripted substitutable loops on children's pretend play with trained and untrained characters. Three young children with autism were shown a video model of scripted toy play that…

One of the challenges in supporting young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in inclusive classrooms is the generalization of improved social behaviors. Using a multiple-baseline design across participants, this study examined the generalized effects of social script training alone and combined with peer buddies on the interactive play…

This study aimed to directly compare the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) and Video Modeling (VM) in the acquisition and generalization of scripted play verbalizations and actions as well as the use of novel statements or actions in both the training and generalization settings. All five participants were exposed to both conditions…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Picture Me Playing intervention for increasing the play dialogue of preschool children with ASD during pretend play opportunities with typical peers. Picture Me Playing is a pictorially enhanced, script based intervention targeting character role play through a narrative vignette. A single-treatment…

The current study employed an adapted alternating treatments design with reversal and multiple probe across participants components to compare the effects of traditional video priming and simultaneous video modeling on the acquisition of play skills in two children diagnosed with autism. Generalization was programmed across play sets, instructors,…

This single-subject research study was designed to examine the effects of point-of-view video modeling (POVM) on the symbolic play actions and play-associated language of four preschool students with autism. A multiple baseline design across participants was conducted in order to evaluate the effectiveness of using POVM as an intervention for…

Children with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), are frequently included in classes with typically developing peers. Although these children may receive instruction on appropriate communication skills, without directly targeting these skills in typical activities, they may not demonstrate these skills when they are with…

Public policy and increased acceptance of people with varying abilities have led to the inclusion of children with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in regular early childhood programs and primary schools. To help integrate the children into the classroom, early childhood teachers need effective interventions they can easily…