AUTHOR=Parsons Lauren , Cordier Reinie , Munro Natalie , Joosten Annette 

TITLE=A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Play-Based, Peer-Mediated Pragmatic Language Intervention for Children With Autism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01960

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01960

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Purpose</title><p>This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a play-based pragmatic language intervention for children with autism.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A sample of 71 children with autism were randomized to an intervention-first group (<italic>n</italic> = 28 analyzed) or waitlist-first (<italic>n</italic> = 34 analyzed) group. Children attended 10, weekly clinic play-sessions with a typically developing peer, and parents mediated practice components at home. The Pragmatics Observational Measure (POM-2) and the Social Emotional Evaluation (SEE) evaluated pragmatics before, after and 3-months following the intervention.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>POM-2 gains were greatest for intervention-first participants (<italic>p</italic> = 0.031, <italic>d</italic> = 0.57). Treatment effects were maintained at 3-month follow-up (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001–0.05, <italic>d</italic> = 0.49–0.64). POM-2 scores were not significantly different in the clinic and home settings at follow-up.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Findings support the combination of play, peer-mediation, video-feedback and parent training to enhance pragmatic language in children with autism.</p></sec>