The Effect of Poetry Therapy on the Development of Language and Social Skills in Children with ASD

Document Type : Original Research

Author
M. Shabani Minaabad
Department of Linguistics, Payam-e-Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Aims: Regarding the language deficiency in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and delay in their development of social activities, providing intervention and training to improve these skills is of great importance. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of children's educational poems on the development of social activities and language skills in autistic children.

Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test and post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all children with ASD (age range: 10-12 years) referring to the Welfare Organization, Exceptional Children's Schools, and healthcare centers and clinics in Ardabil, Iran in the time period between March and September 2019. A total of 30 individuals were selected through voluntary sampling and randomly assigned to experimental (n= 15) and control (n= 15) groups, and answered the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) and the Test of Language Development (TOLD) questionnaires. The children’s educational poems were practiced with the experimental group for 16 sessions (60 minutes; 2 sessions per week). Then, at the end of the interventions, both experimental and control groups were evaluated again by study instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).

Findings: Children's educational poetry significantly improved social activities (p<0.01) and language skills (p<0.01) in children with ASD.

Conclusion: Poetry therapy was effective in increasing the use of language skills and improving appropriate social skills. Also, teaching such skills can be used as an effective intervention method in schools, medical centers, and speech therapy centers.

Keywords

Subjects

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Health Education and Health Promotion
Volume 8, Issue 2
Spring 2020
Pages 79-86