Increasing the athletic group play of children with autism.

A multiple baseline design across three children with autism and within child across activity was used to assess the effects of interventions designed to teach children with autism to play two common athletic group games, handball and 4-square. Treatment consisted of two phases. In Phase I, athletic skills training, the children participated in sessions designed facilitate their acquisition of the athletic skills required by the targeted games. During Phase II, rules training, the children were instructed on the rules of the targeted games. Mastering the athletic skills and participating in rules training resulted in increased athletic group play and concomitant increases in speech. These gains were maintained at 8-16 weeks follow-up. However, generalization to participation in school recess activities did not occur.