Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Pediatr. Jan 9, 2023; 12(1): 1-22
Published online Jan 9, 2023. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v12.i1.1
Play therapy in children with autism: Its role, implications, and limitations
Reem Elbeltagi, Mohammed Al-Beltagi, Nermin Kamal Saeed, Rawan Alhawamdeh
Reem Elbeltagi, Department of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Bahrain, Busaiteen 15503, Bahrain
Mohammed Al-Beltagi, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
Mohammed Al-Beltagi, Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Center, King Abdulla Medical City, Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group, Manama 26671, Bahrain
Nermin Kamal Saeed, Pathology Department, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama 12, Bahrain
Nermin Kamal Saeed, Pathology Department, Irish Royal College of Surgeon, Bahrain, Busaiteen 15503, Bahrain
Rawan Alhawamdeh, Pediatrics Research and Development Department, Genomics Creativity and Play Center, Manama 0000, Bahrain
Rawan Alhawamdeh, School of Continuing Education, Masters in Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
Author contributions: Elbeltagi R, Al-Biltagi M, Saeed NK, and Alhawamdeh R collected the data and wrote and revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohammed Al-Beltagi, MBChB, MD, MSc, PhD, Academic Editor, Chairman, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Professor, Researcher, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Al Bahra Street, Tanta 31527, Egypt. mbelrem@hotmail.com
Received: July 27, 2022
Peer-review started: July 27, 2022
First decision: September 5, 2022
Revised: November 8, 2022
Accepted: November 23, 2022
Article in press: November 23, 2022
Published online: January 9, 2023
Processing time: 159 Days and 21.8 Hours
Abstract

Play is a pleasurable physical or mental activity that enhances the child’s skills involving negotiation abilities, problem-solving, manual dexterity, sharing, decision-making, and working in a group. Play affects all the brain's areas, structures, and functions. Children with autism have adaptive behavior, adaptive response, and social interaction limitations. This review explores the different applications of play therapy in helping children with autism disorder. Play is usually significantly impaired in children with autism. Play therapy is mainly intended to help children to honor their unique mental abilities and developmental levels. The main aim of play therapy is to prevent or solve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal child-healthy growth and development. Play therapy helps children with autism to engage in play activities of their interest and choice to express themselves in the most comfortable ways. It changes their way of self-expression from unwanted behaviors to more non-injurious expressive behavior using toys or activities of their choice as their words. Play therapy also helps those children to experience feeling out various interaction styles. Every child with autism is unique and responds differently. Therefore, different types of intervention, like play therapy, could fit the differences in children with autism. Proper evaluation of the child is mandatory to evaluate which type fits the child more than the others. This narrative review revised the different types of play therapy that could fit children with autism in an evidence-based way. Despite weak evidence, play therapy still has potential benefits for patients and their families.

Keywords: Autism; Play therapy; Children; Autism spectrum disorder; Sensory integration therapy; Art-play therapy; Equine-partnered play therapy; Child-centered play therapy; Synergistic play therapy

Core Tip: Play is a pivotal activity for humans, especially children. It plays an essential role in children’s physical and mental development. Play therapy has been used for a long time to manage various diseases. Play therapy helps children with autism to engage in play activities of their interest, express themselves in comfortable ways, and change their self-expression from unwanted behavior to more non-injurious expressive behavior. There are different forms of play therapy. Proper evaluation of the child is mandatory to evaluate which fits the child more. Play therapy has a lot of potential benefits for patients and their families.