Effects of sociodramatic play training on children with autism

We assessed the effects of teaching sociodramatic play to three children with autism. The training was conducted using a variation of Pivotal Response Training (PRT), a program traditionally used to teach language to children with autism. Measures of play skills, social behavior, and language skills were obtained before treatment, after treatment, and at a followup period. The correlation between language and pretend play was explored, as was the relationship between sociodramatic play and social competence. Positive changes were observed in play, language, and social skills. These changes generalized across toys and settings, although little generalization to other play partners occurred. Effects of play training with children with autism and maintenance of behavior change is discussed.This research was supported by U. S. Public Health Service research grants MH39434 (Laura Schreibman, Principal Investigator) and MH28210 (Robert L. Koegel, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors thank Tami Schiern, Jay Goldschmidt, and Stacy Amano for assistance in data collection and reliability; Karen Pierce and Doug Anderson for reviewing an earlier draft of the paper, and in particular the families and teachers who participated in the project.