Predictors of Play Development at Home After Parent-Mediated Early Intervention for Autistic Preschool Children

Play is a critical developmental domain linked to social communication, cognitive growth, and later peer relationships; however, young autistic children often demonstrate delays in their play skills, especially higher level play skills (i.e., symbolic play). Although play-based, parent-mediated interventions show promise in improving parent strategies for engaging their children in play, we know less about how these strategies translate to child play improvement outside of the therapeutic sessions. The current study examined the home activities of 97 caregiver-child dyads following their participation in parent-mediated Joint Attention Symbolic Play Engagement Regulation (JASPER), among families in low socioeconomic circumstances. Naturalistic home observations identified the types of daily activities in which the dyads engaged, including play. Within play contexts, children whose caregivers received JASPER demonstrated a greater change from functional to symbolic play compared to those in a parent education control condition. Additionally, child-level, but not family-level, characteristics predicted greater gains in symbolic play. The results provide insight into the ecological validity of parent-mediated, play-based interventions delivered in home settings and highlight factors associated with variability in play outcomes. These findings have implications for tailoring parent-mediated interventions to better support equitable and sustainable developmental gains for autistic children.