Relationships Between the Responsiveness of Fathers and Mothers and the Object Play Skills of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

In this observational study, the concurrent relationships between the verbal and play responsiveness of 16 mothers and fathers and the object play skills of 16 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) were investigated. First, the frequencies of children’s play at four levels (i.e., exploratory, relational, functional, and symbolic) across unsupported, mother–child, and father–child play conditions were compared. Next, relationships between mothers’ and fathers’ verbal responsiveness and the object play skills of their children with ASD were examined. Finally, relationships between parents’ play responsiveness and child object play skills were also examined. The results revealed several key findings. Children in the study tended to engage in more relational play with mothers than in unsupported play or play with fathers. For both fathers and mothers, use of responsive verbal behaviors was strongly correlated with higher level object play; however, use of responsive play behaviors was correlated with higher level object play only for fathers. The findings provide a foundation for longitudinal investigations to examine the associations between parental responsive strategies and child play and other developmental outcomes across time as well as for intervention studies to evaluate the efficacy of targeting parent responsiveness to children’s play as an intervention strategy for young children with ASD.