EPA-1121 – Patterns of Object Play in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and in Typical Development (TD). A Case Study

Abstract

Several types of play seem to be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that set limits to development. Detailed observation of interactive play can give insights into how parents of ASD children adapt to the special needs of the child, and how the child is using the parent as a resource. The aim of our study was to explore intaraction patterns emerging in child-mother and child-sibling dyads while playing with objects, including two families, each with an ASD diagnosed kindergarten-aged child. We also included in the design two families with age-matched typically developing children, for sake of comparison. In the analysis we focused on the role of the mother and the sibling in shaping the interaction. The semi-structured play situations in the homes of the families were recorded for later analysis by Noldus Observer XT 8.0 software. Mothers of the ASD children were prone to intervene in the play and direct it, whereas mothers of the TD-children tended to let the child mobilize his imagination and allowed him to play his own way. This could also be observed in the child-sibling dyads, with a more flexible, open-ended play in typical development. Individual needs of the ASD-child influenced the mothers’ behavior, but the, teaching attitude’ they tended to adopt also restricted the activity of the children. This observation raises the importance of understanding interactions from the mother's and sibling's point of view, and the necessity of diversified methods during therapeutic intervention.