The Case for Play Therapy Over Applied Behavior Analysis in the Treatment of Children With Autism

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the current psychiatric standard for early autism intervention; however, concerns regarding the efficacy, ethics, and oversight of ABA have been raised by autism researchers, self-advocates, and bioethicists. Play therapy is considered as a promising alternative to ABA due to its emphasis on encouraging healthy social and emotional development. A review of research on play therapy as a treatment for autism was conducted, with a focus on child-centered play therapy, cognitive-behavioral play therapy, and the DIR/Floortime approach. The body of research suggests that play therapy is effective at improving verbal and non-verbal communication, social reciprocity, empathy, and attention in autistic children while reducing the frequency of externalizing behaviors. Research limitations and future directions are discussed.