Teaching "Imaginary Objects" Symbolic Play to Young Children with Autism

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Symbolic play is crucial for language acquisition and overall child development.
• Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit challenges in symbolic play.
• Imaginary object play, a form of symbolic play, involves performing actions without tangible objects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of intraverbal training on the acquisition of imaginary object symbolic play in children with ASD.
• To examine the generalization of these play skills to untrained activities and settings.
• To observe the emergence or increase of symbolic play during free play post-intervention.

Main Methods:

• A multiple-probe design across three participants (boys aged 3-7 years with ASD) and two settings was utilized.
• Intraverbal training was the primary intervention strategy.
• Data collection focused on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of imaginary object symbolic play.

Main Results:

• All three participants successfully acquired and maintained the targeted imaginary object play skills.
• One participant demonstrated generalization of symbolic play to untrained activities.
• Symbolic play skills emerged or increased in all participants during free play sessions following the training.

Conclusions:

• Intraverbal training is an effective method for teaching imaginary object symbolic play to children with ASD.
• The intervention shows promise for improving symbolic play, which can support language development in this population.
• Further research could explore broader applications and long-term effects of this training approach.