[Pretend play: an application of an intervention program in autism]

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

• The metarepresentational deficit hypothesis suggests difficulties in understanding mental states contribute to autism symptoms.
• Symbolic play, particularly pretend play, is crucial for developing metarepresentational abilities.
• Targeted interventions are needed to address deficits in understanding and producing pretense in autistic individuals.

Observation:

• An intervention program was designed for an autistic boy focusing on the production and comprehension of symbolic play.
• Two specific strategies, based on pictorial analogy of mental representation and process, were employed.
• The learning focused on teaching the mental state of pretense.

Findings:

• The intervention program proved efficient and effective.
• The subject demonstrated competence in generating and comprehending pretense.
• Acquired knowledge was successfully generalized to other areas of mentalistic functioning.

Implications:

• The findings support the metarepresentational deficit hypothesis in autism.
• Internalizing conceptual support strategies may foster metarepresentational knowledge development.
• This approach offers a potential pathway for enhancing social-cognitive skills in autistic individuals.