Play intervention strategies for a child with autism

Abstract

Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which the communicative, emotional and symbolic development of the child is disturbed, as well as the capacity to establish relationships with adults and objects. Objective: To identify the impact of playing on the communicative, emotional and symbolic development of a child with autism aged 3 years and 6 months. Materials and methods:. Qualitative descriptive research. The parents of the child were interviewed and the child was observed in an educational and clinical context. An assessment of child development was made before and after performing the intervention, in which the formative experimental method proposed by Vygotsky was used. The intervention was designed considering the psychological development needs of the child regarding governing activities. Results: Playing is an effective means that contributes to the development of communicative, emotional and symbolic abilities in cases of autism. Conclusion: Clinical intervention from a historical-cultural psychology and activity theory approach has a positive impact on the psychological development of the child. This intervention is intentionally proposed and promotes the development of social co-regulation skills that facilitate communicative interaction in cases of autism.