Araştırma Makalesi

Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2 30 Eylül 2026
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Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Öz

Children with autism spectrum disorder may experience developmental difficulties in the areas of social communication and interaction. This study aims to investigate the effect of child-centered play therapy on the development of social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. The study group consists of children aged 3-6 years with autism spectrum disorder. A quasi-experimental design was employed for the study. In the experimental group, child-centered play therapy was applied to 5 children with autism spectrum disorder for 15 weeks, 3 sessions per week, for a total of 45 sessions. ‘Social Communication Checklist-Revised for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder’ and the “Denver-II Developmental Screening Test” were used as instruments for data collection. According to the findings of the study, the Mann–Whitney U test conducted on the post-test scores of the experimental and control groups revealed statistically significant differences in all sub-dimensions of the Social Communication Checklist. Significant differences were found between the groups in social participation (Z = −2.627, p < .05, r = .83), expressive language (Z = −2.617, p ≤ .05, r = .83), receptive language (Z = −2.739, p < .05, r = .87), and imitative play (Z = −2.643, p < .05, r = .84). Regarding the Denver II Developmental Screening Test, a statistically significant difference was also found between the groups in the personal-social subscale (Z = −2.730, p < .05, r = .86). However, no statistically significant difference was observed in the language development subscale (Z = −1.586, p > .05). The results revealed that child-centered play therapy has a significant effect on the development of social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Research findings show that child-centred play therapy brings about significant improvements in the social communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. The progress observed in the experimental group supports the idea that play-based approaches can be an effective tool in early intervention programmes.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Etik Beyan

This article was presented as an oral presentation at the 7th National Interdisciplinary Congress on Intervention ın Early Childhood (UDEMKO2023) held at Anadolu University on 5–8 October 2023 and published in the abstract book.

Kaynakça

  1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
  2. Anlar, B., & Yalaz, K. (1996). Denver II gelişimsel tarama testi: Türk çocuklarına uyarlanması ve standardizasyonu [Denver II developmental screening test: Adaptation and standardisation for Turkish children]. Meteksan.
  3. Axline, V. M. (1981). Dibs in search of self. Ballantine Books.
  4. Baranek, G. T., Reinhartsen, D., & Wannamaker, S. (2001). Play: Engaging children with autism. In R. A. Huebner (Ed.), Sensorimotor interventions in autism (pp. 311–351). F. A. Davis.
  5. Bratton, S. C., Ceballos, P. L., Sheely-Moore, A. I., Meany-Walen, K., Pronchenko, Y., & Jones, L. D. (2013). Head Start early mental health intervention: Effects of child-centered play therapy on disruptive behaviors. International Journal of Play Therapy, 22(1), 28–42. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030318
  6. Brown, J., & Whiten, A. (2000). Imitation, theory of mind and related activities in autism: An observational study of spontaneous behavior in everyday contexts. Autism, 4(2), 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361300004002006
  7. Bulduk, S. (2008). Psikolojide deneysel araştırma yöntemleri: Yeni başlayanlar için [Experimental research methods in psychology: For beginners] (Expanded 2nd ed.). Çantay Kitabevi.Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2018). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı. Pegem Akademi.
  8. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş., & Demirel, F. (2021). Eğitimde bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri [Scientific research methods in education]. Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

Alan Eğitimleri (Diğer)

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

30 Eylül 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

26 Ağustos 2025

Kabul Tarihi

27 Eylül 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2

Kaynak Göster

APA
Koçak, F., Traş, Z., & Yakıcı, H. B. (2026). Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 8(2), 206-223. https://doi.org/10.38151/akef.2026.170
AMA
1.Koçak F, Traş Z, Yakıcı HB. Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. AKEF. 2026;8(2):206-223. doi:10.38151/akef.2026.170
Chicago
Koçak, Fatih, Zeliha Traş, ve Hikmet Beyza Yakıcı. 2026. “Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi 8 (2): 206-23. https://doi.org/10.38151/akef.2026.170.
EndNote
Koçak F, Traş Z, Yakıcı HB (01 Eylül 2026) Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi 8 2 206–223.
IEEE
[1]F. Koçak, Z. Traş, ve H. B. Yakıcı, “Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”, AKEF, c. 8, sy 2, ss. 206–223, Eyl. 2026, doi: 10.38151/akef.2026.170.
ISNAD
Koçak, Fatih - Traş, Zeliha - Yakıcı, Hikmet Beyza. “Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi 8/2 (01 Eylül 2026): 206-223. https://doi.org/10.38151/akef.2026.170.
JAMA
1.Koçak F, Traş Z, Yakıcı HB. Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. AKEF. 2026;8:206–223.
MLA
Koçak, Fatih, vd. “Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, c. 8, sy 2, Eylül 2026, ss. 206-23, doi:10.38151/akef.2026.170.
Vancouver
1.Fatih Koçak, Zeliha Traş, Hikmet Beyza Yakıcı. Investigating the Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Development of Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. AKEF. 01 Eylül 2026;8(2):206-23. doi:10.38151/akef.2026.170

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