Play interactions of autistic preschoolers with their mothers and fathers without toys yield more positive interactions than play with toys / David OPPENHEIM in Autism, 29-8 (August 2025)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism > 29-8 (August 2025) . - p.1987-1997 Titre : Play interactions of autistic preschoolers with their mothers and fathers without toys yield more positive interactions than play with toys Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : David OPPENHEIM, Auteur ; Michal MOTTES-PELEG, Auteur ; Smadar DOLEV, Auteur ; Nurit YIRMIYA, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1987-1997 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorders  emotional availability  fathers  parent-child interaction  play Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : 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 Abstract Researchers 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 play without toys. 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. En ligne : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13623613251329975 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=564 [article] Play interactions of autistic preschoolers with their mothers and fathers without toys yield more positive interactions than play with toys [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / David OPPENHEIM, Auteur ; Michal MOTTES-PELEG, Auteur ; Smadar DOLEV, Auteur ; Nurit YIRMIYA, Auteur . - p.1987-1997. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism > 29-8 (August 2025) . - p.1987-1997 Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorders  emotional availability  fathers  parent-child interaction  play Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : 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 Abstract Researchers 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 play without toys. 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. En ligne : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13623613251329975 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=564

The social skills of autistic boys in preschool: the contributions of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents / Michal MOTTES-PELEG ; Lior HAMBURGER ; Michal SLONIM ; Yael MACCABI ; Nurit YIRMIYA in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 66-3 (March 2025)  

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry > 66-3 (March 2025) . - p.322-332 Titre : The social skills of autistic boys in preschool: the contributions of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Michal MOTTES-PELEG, Auteur ; Lior HAMBURGER, Auteur ; Michal SLONIM, Auteur ; Yael MACCABI, Auteur ; Nurit YIRMIYA, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.322-332 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorder  parent-child interactions  fathers Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background The interactions of typically developing (TD) children within the family context are associated with their social skills in preschool, and the question guiding this study, which focused on boys, was whether the same would be true for autistic children. A specific focus was on the importance of the boys' engagement in triadic, mother?father?child interactions over and above their engagement in dyadic, parent?child interactions. The boys' social skills were assessed concurrently with their family interactions and one year later. Methods Seventy-five autistic preschooler boys (Age in months: M?=?49.45, SD?=?11.03) and both of their parents were recruited through treatment centers and social media. The boys' dyadic engagement was assessed from observations of their interactions with their mothers and fathers (separately), and their triadic engagement from an observation of mother?father?child interactions. The boys' social skills in preschool were assessed using a Q-sort completed by observers and teachers and by the Social Responsiveness Questionnaire (SRS) completed by teachers. Results Controlling for the severity of the boys' symptoms and IQ, their dyadic engagement was associated with the concurrent observer Q-sort and teacher-reported SRS measures, and their triadic engagement did not explain additional variance in these measures. Predicting over one year, dyadic engagement was associated again with the observer Q-sort and teacher SRS measures, while the boys' triadic engagement accounted for additional variance in these measures as well as the teacher Q-sort. Finally, boys' dyadic engagement predicted gains in social skills on the observer Q-sort, and their triadic engagement was predictive of gains in the observer and teacher Q-sort. Conclusions The engagement that autistic preschool-age boys displayed in the context of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents appears to be transferred to the preschool setting, and triadic interactions are of particular significance. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14061 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=548 [article] The social skills of autistic boys in preschool: the contributions of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Michal MOTTES-PELEG, Auteur ; Lior HAMBURGER, Auteur ; Michal SLONIM, Auteur ; Yael MACCABI, Auteur ; Nurit YIRMIYA, Auteur . - p.322-332. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry > 66-3 (March 2025) . - p.322-332 Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorder  parent-child interactions  fathers Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background The interactions of typically developing (TD) children within the family context are associated with their social skills in preschool, and the question guiding this study, which focused on boys, was whether the same would be true for autistic children. A specific focus was on the importance of the boys' engagement in triadic, mother?father?child interactions over and above their engagement in dyadic, parent?child interactions. The boys' social skills were assessed concurrently with their family interactions and one year later. Methods Seventy-five autistic preschooler boys (Age in months: M?=?49.45, SD?=?11.03) and both of their parents were recruited through treatment centers and social media. The boys' dyadic engagement was assessed from observations of their interactions with their mothers and fathers (separately), and their triadic engagement from an observation of mother?father?child interactions. The boys' social skills in preschool were assessed using a Q-sort completed by observers and teachers and by the Social Responsiveness Questionnaire (SRS) completed by teachers. Results Controlling for the severity of the boys' symptoms and IQ, their dyadic engagement was associated with the concurrent observer Q-sort and teacher-reported SRS measures, and their triadic engagement did not explain additional variance in these measures. Predicting over one year, dyadic engagement was associated again with the observer Q-sort and teacher SRS measures, while the boys' triadic engagement accounted for additional variance in these measures as well as the teacher Q-sort. Finally, boys' dyadic engagement predicted gains in social skills on the observer Q-sort, and their triadic engagement was predictive of gains in the observer and teacher Q-sort. Conclusions The engagement that autistic preschool-age boys displayed in the context of their dyadic and triadic interactions with their parents appears to be transferred to the preschool setting, and triadic interactions are of particular significance. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14061 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=548

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