RT - Journal Article T1 - Effectiveness of Sand Play Training on Social Skills, Multiple Problem Behaviors and Peer Relationship in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder JF - University-of-Hormozgan YR - 2022 JO - University-of-Hormozgan VO - 4 IS - 4 UR - http://ieepj.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-612-en.html SP - 155 EP - 164 K1 - Sand play training K1 - social skills K1 - multiple problem behaviors K1 - children with autism spectrum disorder AB - Sand play training is one of the most common interventions to help address social deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of sand play training on social skills, multiple problem behaviors and peer relationship in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a semi-experimental pretest-posttest-follow-up with a control group design, 30 children were selected by convenience sampling method and assigned to experimental and control groups randomly. The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) and Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS-2) were used to collect data. The experimental group underwent 8 sessions of sand play training, but the control group did not receive any training. Repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS-24 software was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that intervention was effective on social skills, multiple problem behaviors and peer relationship in children with ASD (p <0.01). Furthermore, Results revealed that intervention effects continued at 2-month follow-up (p <0.01). According to our results, sand play training improved the social skills and peer relationship and decreased the multiple problem behaviors in children with ASD. Therefore, this treatment along with other therapeutic interventions can be used as an effective intervention method in the rehabilitation program for children with ASD. LA eng UL http://ieepj.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-612-en.html M3 10.52547/ieepj.4.4.155 ER -