OBJECTIVE: To explore the curative effect of progressively integrated sandplay therapy on core symptoms and sleep management in preschool children with mild-to-moderate autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: A total of 50 mild-to-moderate ASD preschool children were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=25) and a control group (n=25). The control group was treated with structured teaching and auditory integration training (AIT). Based on these, the experimental group was treated with progressively integrated sandplay therapy. The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Children Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) and emotion recognition tools were used to evaluate the overall curative effect before treatment and 3 months after treatment. RESULTS: The experimental group had significantly lower scores of feeling, social interaction, somatic motor, language factor, total ABC and total CARS than the control group (P<0.05). The experimental group had also significantly lower scores of social cognition, social communication, social motivation, autistic behavior factor and total SRS than the control group (P<0.05). The experimental group had a significantly higher accurate rate of recognition of the upper facial expression and lower facial expression than the control group (P<0.05). The experimental group had significantly lower scores of bedtime resistance, sleep onset, sleep duration, night waking, daytime sleepiness, and total CSHQ than the control group (P<0.05). The experimental group had significantly reduced themes of wounding and significantly increased themes of healing after sandplay therapy (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Progressively integrated sandplay therapy can effectively improve the core symptoms and sleep quality of preschool children with mild-to-moderate ASD, which can be used as an early rehabilitation measure.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Child, Preschool ; Facial Expression ; Humans ; Play Therapy ; Social Behavior

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical efficacy of interactive group sandplay versus individual sandplay in the treatment of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: A total of 80 ASD children, aged 4-6 years, were enrolled and randomly divided into experimental and control groups, with 40 children in each group. The children in the experimental group joined group sandplay with normal children at a ratio of 1: 3, and those in the control group were treated with individual sandplay. The Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) were used to evaluate the treatment outcome after three months of intervention. RESULTS: There were 33 children in the experimental group and 28 in the control group. After three months of intervention, the experimental group had significant reductions in the scores of irritability, social withdrawal, and stereotypic behavior and the total score of the ABC scale (P<0.05), and the control group had significant reductions in the scores of behavior and inappropriate speech and the total score of the ABC scale (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the experimental group had significantly greater improvements in the score of social withdrawal and the total score of the ABC scale after three months of intervention (P<0.05). After three months of intervention, the experimental group had significant reductions in the scores of sociability, sensory and cognitive awareness, and physical/health behavior and the total score of the ATEC scale (P<0.05), and the control group had significant reductions in the scores of speech, sociability, and physical/health behavior and the total score of the ATEC scale (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the experimental group had significantly greater improvements in the scores of speech, sociability, and sensory and cognitive awareness and the total score of the ATEC scale after intervention (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the experimental group also had significantly greater improvements in eye contact and sand stereotyped arrangement (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Both interactive group sandplay and individual sandplay are effective in the treatment of ASD in preschool children. Interactive group sandplay is better than individual sandplay in the treatment of ASD, with significant improvements in sociability, emotion and stereotypic behavior.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Emotions ; Humans ; Play Therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical effect of integrated sandplay therapy in preschool children with Asperger syndrome (AS). METHODS: A total of 44 preschool children with AS were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group, with 22 children in each group. The children in the control group were given routine training, and those in the experimental group were given integrated sandplay therapy in addition to the routine training. The treatment response was assess by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), emotional recognition tools and changes in sandplay theme characteristics after 6 months of treatment. RESULTS: Before intervention, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the total score of SRS, the score of each factor of SRS, and correct rates of facial expression recognition of the upright position, inverted position, upper face and lower face (P>0.05). After 6 months of intervention, both groups had significant reductions in the total score of SRS and the score of each factor of SRS (P<0.01); the control group had significant increases in the correct rates of facial expression recognition of all positions except the upright position (P<0.05), while the experimental group had significant increases in the correct rates of facial expression recognition of all positions (P<0.05). Compared with the control group after intervention, the experimental group had significantly lower total score of SRS and scores of all factors of SRS except social perception (P<0.01) and significantly higher correct rates of facial expression recognition of all positions (P<0.01). The experimental group had a significant change in the number of sandplay theme characteristics after intervention (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Integrated sandplay therapy can improve social responsiveness and emotion recognition ability in preschool children with AS.
Asperger Syndrome ; Child, Preschool ; Emotions ; Facial Expression ; Humans ; Play Therapy

BACKGROUND: This research compared the effectiveness of play therapy provided individually or in groups for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms among children. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial that used a multi-stage random sampling method. Participants included 45 children aged 6 to 10 years old with ODD, all of whom had been referred to medical consultation centers in Ahvaz, Iran in 2012. Experimental groups consisted of 15 children receiving individual play therapy and 15 receiving group play therapy, while the control group consisted of 15 randomly selected children. Data were collected using the child behavior checklist parent report form and teacher report form, along with clinical interviews with the parents. Play therapy took place weekly for eight total sessions; individual sessions lasted 45 minutes each, while group sessions were each 60 minutes in duration. Participants were assessed in three stages, including pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 2-month follow-up. PASW SPSS ver. 18.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and analysis of covariance analysis methods were used to analyze data. RESULTS: Results showed meaningful decreases in ODD symptoms in the experimental groups in comparison with the control group, based on parent reporting (P≤0.001 and F=129.40) and the teacher reports additionally showed meaningful decreases in ODD symptoms in the experimental groups compared to the control group, (P≤0.001 and F=93.14). Furthermore, the effects were maintained after 2 months. CONCLUSION: This research supports the efficacy of individual and group play therapy for the treatment of ODD in children, as well as the consistency of the effects at 2-month follow-up.
Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders ; Checklist ; Child Behavior ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iran ; Methods ; Parents ; Play Therapy ; Psychotherapy

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that begins in early childhood and can persist throughout adulthood. ADHD causes difficulties in various area of life, such as academic achievement, peer relationships, family functioning, employment and marriage. Although ADHD is known to respond well to medication, such treatment is more effective when combined with psychosocial (non-pharmacologic) therapy in terms of alleviating the core symptoms and improving appropriate functions. Psychosocial treatment interventions are divided into psychoeducation, behavioral parent training, school intervention, cognitive behavior therapy, social skill training, parent-child interaction therapy, play therapy, other treatments (coaching, complementary and alternative medicine), neurofeedback and Cogmed. Adult ADHD cognitive behavioral therapy is described separately. These practice parameters summarize the evidence for psychosocial treatment. Based on this evidence, specific recommendations are provided for psychosocial interventions.
Adult ; Cognitive Therapy ; Employment ; Family Relations ; Humans ; Marriage ; Neurofeedback ; Parents ; Play Therapy ; Social Skills

Human ; Play Therapy ; Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity

In this paper, the researcher proposed to search for current research data on ADHD and play therapy. To achieve this, the researcher look into ADHD - it's definition, manifestation children, the "metaphors" used in relation to ADHD, the neurobiology of ADHD, and treatment interventions for ADHD. The researcher conducted a review of research publications for the past 10 years on ADHD and play therapy and share her clinical experience in the use of play therapy for children with ADHD. The researcher also presented the quantitative data from gathered research to assess the quality of life od several children with ADHD pre- and post-play therapy.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to evaluate the effects of a transtheoretical model (TTM) based exercise counseling offered with music skipping rope exercise on components of the TTM (stages of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy), body mass index, glucose, and lipid profile of overweight/obese children in Korea. METHODS: This study used a nonequivalent pretest and posttest experimental study design. A total of 75 overweight/obese children participated in the study. Eight sessions of exercise counseling combined with music skipping rope exercise for 12 weeks were offered for children in the experimental group, while one session of exercise counseling with music skipping rope exercise for 12 weeks was offered for children in the control group. Outcomes were measured at baseline, and 6 months after the intervention. RESULTS: After the intervention, self-efficacy significantly improved among children in the experimental group (p = .049), while these children maintained their baseline BMI at 6-month follow-up (p > .05). Among children in the control group, BMI significantly increased (p < .05). Fasting blood sugar significantly increased for both groups after the intervention (p < .05). However, a greater increase was observed for the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study partially supports the hypothesis that a TTM-based exercise intervention is effective in maintaining BMI and improving self-efficacy of overweight/obese children. The TTM-based counseling combined with exercise classes has potential to control weight among overweight/obese children, while involvement of parents and children in the development of the theory-based intervention may generate further benefits regarding health and well-being of overweight/obese children.
Adolescent ; Attitude to Health ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Counseling/*methods ; Exercise Therapy/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Music Therapy/*methods ; Pediatric Obesity/*prevention & control ; Play and Playthings ; Self Efficacy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic literature review is to analyze the psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents after disasters. METHODS: We conducted a review of the extant research literature from 1991 to 2015 via a comprehensive search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, PubMed and PsyclNFO databases. The keywords employed in this research included: ‘child’, ‘adolescent’, ‘youth’, ‘disaster’, ‘posttraumatic’, ‘psychosocial’, ‘therapy’ and ‘intervention’. The researchers followed the PRISMA guidelines. A total of 850 articles were screened for their eligibility and fifty-nine were found to meet the study criteria. The final data analysis was performed based on the disaster type, study design, type of intervention, sample size, age, school grade, number of sessions, setting of intervention delivery, providers, approach and parent involvement. RESULTS: Countries worldwide have experienced various kinds of disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, vessel accidents, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, war, fire, terrorism, and traffic accidents. The types of psychosocial intervention that were conducted after these disasters included: psychological first aid, psychological debriefing, psychoeducation, trauma focused cognitive behavior therapy, eye movement desensitization reprocessing, prolonged exposure therapy, group play therapy and arts therapy, project interventions, school-based interventions and web-based interventions. CONCLUSION: The findings of the systematic literature review suggest that an appropriate psychosocial intervention could be utilized as evidence-based mental health treatment for children and adolescents after disasters.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adolescent* ; Child* ; Cognitive Therapy ; Cyclonic Storms ; Disasters* ; Earthquakes ; Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing ; Fires ; First Aid ; Humans ; Implosive Therapy ; Mental Health ; Parents ; Play Therapy ; Sample Size ; Statistics as Topic ; Terrorism ; Tornadoes ; Tsunamis ; Volcanic Eruptions

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to assess the career paths and practice patterns of child and adolescent psychiatrists in South Korea. METHODS: A survey on demographic data, work environment, opinion on fellowship training program, and current practice patterns was conducted in 76/223 (34.0%) of all child and adolescent psychiatrists (N=223) were from 1980 to 2008. The survey data from the responders were analyzed. RESULTS: More than half of those surveyed were women. The mean age of survey participants was 40.8 years; most were married, and lived in the Seoul National Capital Area. In general, the responders were very satisfied with their work. They worked in private practice, public sector, group practice, and as consultants. Up to 87% of the patients treated were children and adolescents. The most common treatment modalities were medication and parent psychoeducation. Social skills training and play therapy were applied mainly for children aged 4 to 12 years old. Cognitive behavioral therapy and counseling were preferred in adolescents. CONCLUSION: The current study used a database approach in order to define current practice patterns. These data may be helpful in consideration of future training programs, workforce issues in child and adolescent psychiatry in South Korea, and also in collaboration with other mental health providers.
Adolescent Psychiatry ; Adolescent* ; Child* ; Cognitive Therapy ; Consultants ; Cooperative Behavior ; Counseling ; Education ; Fellowships and Scholarships ; Female ; Group Practice ; Humans ; Korea ; Mental Health ; Parents ; Play Therapy ; Private Practice ; Psychiatry* ; Public Sector ; Seoul