Play interactions of autistic preschoolers with their mothers and fathers without toys yield more positive interactions than play with toys.

Researchers watched 78 autistic boys playing with their mums and dads, comparing playtime with toys versus without toys. They found that both parents and children had more positive interactions when playing without toys. The quality of play was equally good with both mums and dads. This suggests that toy-free play might be better for building positive connections with autistic children.

This study examined play interactions between 78 autistic preschool boys and their parents, comparing toy-based versus toy-free play sessions. Using Emotional Availability scales, researchers found that both mothers and fathers demonstrated more positive interactions with their autistic children during play without toys compared to play with toys. The study also revealed no significant differences between mother-child and father-child interaction quality in either play condition. These findings challenge common assessment practices that rely primarily on toy-based observations and highlight the importance of including fathers in autism research and intervention planning.

Findings suggest clinicians should incorporate toy-free play activities in assessments and interventions. Both parents should be equally engaged in therapeutic activities. Traditional toy-based assessments may not capture optimal parent-child interaction potential in autism.

Study included only boys, limiting generalizability to autistic girls. Sample characteristics and methodology details are not fully described in the abstract. Counterbalancing effects and specific toy types used are unclear.

Observations of parent-child play with toys are often used to assess interactions between parents and non-autistic as well as autistic children, but some research indicates that play without toys may elicit more positive interactions than play with toys. The first goal of the study was to examine whether this is true in the case of autistic preschoolers by comparing their play with their parents with versus without toys. The second goal was to compare mother- and father-child interactions. Seventy-eight autistic preschooler boys were observed interacting in counterbalanced mother- and father-child play with or without toys, and interactions were coded using the Emotional Availability scales.

Results revealed that for both mothers and fathers scores on all of the EA scales in the play episode without toys were higher than scores in the episode with toys. Also, almost no differences were found between children's interactions with their mothers and fathers in both play with or without toys. Both findings broaden our understanding of the early social experiences of autistic children with their parents.Lay AbstractResearchers that study the development of young children often observe them playing with their parents with toys. However, a few studies and clinical experience suggest that the interactions between parents and children are often more positive when they playtoys.

The first goal of the study was to find out if this is true for autistic preschoolers. We observed 78 children playing with each of their parents, and compared their play with and without toys. The second goal of the study was to compare mother- and father-child interactions to discover if they are similar or different from one another. We measured the emotional quality of parent-child interactions using scales that measure the behavior of both parents and children toward one another.

We studied only boys because autism may present differently in girls. We discovered that both parents' and children's behavior were more positive when they were playing without toys compared to when they were playing with toys. Also, when we compared the emotional quality of how children played with their mothers and their fathers we found almost no differences, both in how the parents and the children behaved. The findings are important because they can guide researchers, clinicians, and parents to include both play with toys and play without toys in studies, interventions, and daily life.

They also emphasize the importance of fathers, because although the fathers in the study were somewhat less involved in everyday caregiving with their children compared to mothers, they had interactions with the children that were as positive as those children had with their mothers. Importantly, we do not know if the findings apply to autistic girls as well.