Enhancing Play and Daily Activities in Autistic Children: Family-Centered Occupational Therapy in a Hospital Setting

ImportanceFamily-centered occupational therapy (FCOT) Coaching Intervention improves child participation and parental skills, yet its use in hospital-based early intervention (EI) in Taiwan is limited.ObjectiveTo evaluate FCOT Coaching Intervention for enhancing daily participation and play in autistic children.DesignQuasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design.SettingNational Taiwan University Children's Hospital.ParticipantsNineteen autistic children (aged 2-6) and their parents. Families self-selected into FCOT Coaching Intervention group (n = 9) or control group (n = 10) based on transportation convenience.InterventionFCOT Coaching Intervention group comprised twice-weekly, 30-min sessions over 6 months, focusing on parent coaching and family-centered goals. Controls received traditional therapy in community clinics.Outcomes and MeasuresChild outcomes were assessed via Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (PEP-3), Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), and Revised Knox Preschool Play Scale (RKPPS). Parenting stress and family outcomes were measured with Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and Family Outcomes Survey-Revised (FOS-R). Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) assessed individualized goals in FCOT Coaching Intervention group.ResultsChildren who received FCOT Coaching Intervention showed significant gains in adaptive behaviors (p = .021), daily living skills (p = .026), and attention during play (p = .035). GAS revealed notable progress in play and daily activity participation. Parenting stress and family outcomes showed no significant group differences.Conclusions and RelevanceFCOT Coaching Intervention effectively enhanced parts of functional participation and play in young autistic children in a hospital setting. Findings support expanding FCOT Coaching Intervention in EI and underscore the need for long-term follow-up.