This rural Australian study explored the effects of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) on the social and emotional growth of 3 young children with autism ages 4Ϫ6 years. Parents sought private therapy for the emotional and behavioral difficulties these children were experiencing at home and in educational settings. All children participated in 10 weekly, individual therapy sessions, which focused on targeted goals set by parents. Two instruments, the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Second Edition, and the Developmental Behavior Checklist, were used to formally measure social and emotional growth pre-and postintervention. Informal data were also gathered on each child's targeted goal using Goal Attainment Scaling and weekly parent reflections. Data from both formal and informal measures showed positive improvements for all children in several areas of social and emotional functioning. Results indicated that CCPT was an effective intervention for this small sample of young children with autism. Limitations, implications, and recommendations are discussed.
Objective. Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) has demonstrated effectiveness in improving social cognition and functioning of people with schizophrenia. This pilot study examines the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of SCIT with individuals who have schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and are receiving care through a public mental health service.Method. In a pragmatic randomized waitlist controlled trial, 36 participants (aged 19-55 years) with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder were randomly allocated to SCIT or treatment as usual (TAU). Measures of theory of mind, emotion perception, attributional bias, social skills, quality of life, life skills, depression, anxiety, and stress were administered pre-and post-intervention with follow-up conducted 4 months later. All wait-list controls subsequently received the intervention and a secondary within-group analysis was conducted including these participants.Results. While no significant differences were found between groups on any outcomes, there was strong engagement with the SCIT intervention. Of the 21 participants in the intervention group, the completion rate was 85.71% with a median attendance rate of 17 sessions. Within subject analyses of SCIT participants over time showed significant improvements in quality of life, emotion recognition, social skills, and a trend towards
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