Play - a prescription for autism!

According to an American autism expert, many autistic children, with the right teaching, can overcome many of the disorder's difficult characteristics.

Dr. Richard Solomon, a developmental and behavioural paediatrician, is the Medical Director of the PLAY Project - he has been diagnosing and treating children with autism for over fifteen years.

The PLAY Project is a parent training programme for young children with autistic spectrum disorders and evolved in a small special education setting in Ann Arbor, Michigan where intervention was play-based.

Dr. Solomon says even though there is no cure for autism and many autistic children with the challenging disorder have few treatment options, such children can be taught to be very "functional".

He says the key is early intervention on the part of parents in the form of sensory-focused play and he says while this may at first feel counter-intuitive and to make little sense in terms of 'education' - it entails hard work and engagement - and gets results.

Autism Spectrum Disorders are a range of neurobiological disorders for which the cause is unknown; communication and social skills are affected, often severely, and one in every 160 Australian children aged between six and 12 are affected.

The symptoms include delayed speech, a lack of eye contact, compulsive and obsessive behaviours and few if any social skills.

Dr. Solomon says many parents of autistic children are left feeling unable to relate to their child but PLAY (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) teaches parents to parents how "sensory play" can be used to develop a link with their autistic child.

PLAY is all about intensive home-based intervention, using play-based approaches where parents are encouraged to get down on the floor and play with the child at their level and is a vital step towards improving communication and social skills.

The methods and techniques of PLAY aim to help children resolve the three core deficits of autism: self-isolation and impaired social skills, language delay and impaired communication, and stereotyped or repetitive behaviours - this play can range from gently pinching the child's finger tips through to "rough-house" play.

Dr. Solomon says sensory play will engage a child with autism far more than puzzles or books and provide the first step towards language.

The PLAY project has been successfully used in the U.S. and it is also being introduced in India, the UK and the Netherlands.

Australian parents can access the service for free through the federal government's Helping Children with Autism package, which provides grants up to $6,000 to pay for support-related services.

Dr. Solomon says that while the PLAY Project was beneficial for any parent's relationship with their autistic child, the majority of children emerged from it with clear developmental gains.

PLAY appears to offer a cost effective and innovative early intervention program for children (18 months to 7 years).

Dr. Solomon will teach parents and professional the fundamentals of PLAY - the cost of the programme is around $3,000 a year. Parents will be able to access the project through the ‘Helping Children with Autism’ package’, the first national Federal Government initiative aimed at addressing the considerable need for support and services for children with ASD.

The PLAY Project will be delivered in NSW by Northcott Disability Services provides early intervention services to children with autism and their families’ state wide - for more information call 1800 004 957.