Development of play therapy based on sensory integration and its feasibility on the frequency and severity of challenging behavior in boys with autism spectrum disorder

The present study aimed to develop a play therapy based on sensory integration and its feasibility on the frequency and severity of challenging behavior in boys with autism spectrum disorder. The study was based on a quasi-experimental pre-and post-test and follow-up of 1.5 months design. The statistical population of this research included all children with autism spectrum disorder from 5 to 12 years old in Gilan province in 2020-2021. Based on the research's inclusion criteria and purposeful sampling, 30 children were selected as a sample and randomly placed in the experimental and control groups. Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01) Rojahn et al. (2001) was used in the measuring stages. The intervention was performed individually for 15 sessions of 30-45 minutes (for 5 weeks, 3 days each week) in the experimental group. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the frequency scores of challenging behavior in the experimental group decreased significantly from the pre-test to the post-test and from the pre-test to the follow-up (P<0.05). Also, the severity of challenging behavior scores in the experimental group decreased significantly from the pre-test to the post-test and from pre-test to follow-up (P<0.05). As a result, play therapy based on sensory integration can play an effective role in reducing the frequency and severity of challenging behavior of boys with autism spectrum disorder.