Impact of Play Therapy on Developmental Outcomes for Kids with Autism

Assignment 2: Qualitative Journal Article Review
Your Name
University
Research Methodology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Chosen Topic
The impact of play therapy as a recreational therapy on developmental outcomes for kids diagnosed with autism.
Qualitative Journal Article Selected
Meliha, U. Z. U. N., & Yilmaz, B. (2020). Play therapy in children with autism diagnosis: an investigation into the trainers’ opinions. Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise, 22(2), 318-326.
Statement of Problem
The authors argue that a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggles with the dimensions of social interactions, expression, nonverbal information-sharing capabilities, and repetitive behavioral tendencies. Autistic children show social interaction issues, social nervousness, as well as communication issues, making them avoid social interactions. This makes the children show undesirable interactions in the community as they grow. The authors recognized a research gap in the efficacy of existing therapeutic practices in reducing or helping address the aforementioned functional limitations. There is a need to shift from traditional therapy techniques that are typically dull for children with autism and embrace play therapy. Although the research question is not explicitly defined, the authors tried to investigate the impact of therapeutic play activities on the functional abilities of children with autism. The need to conduct this research was to establish the effect of entertainment activities on the cognitive, social, physical, self-care, emotional, and mental competencies of ASD kids.
Literature Review
This qualitative study draws from recent studies on the efficacy of play therapy in addressing developmental challenges for children with autism. Schottelkorb et al. (2020) sought to establish whether intensive child-based play therapy effectively addressed ASD symptoms in children. They found that participation in child-based play