The play therapy effectiveness in improving adaptive skills of children with physical-motor disabilities

Background and Objective: Play therapy provides an opportunity for children with disabilities to experience and learn new skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of play therapy in improving the adaptive skills of children with physical-motor disability (PMD). Methods: The method of the present study was quasi-experimental using pre-test and post-test design with control group. The statistical population of this study included all 6-8-year-old PMD children referred to Behesht Occupational Therapy Clinic in Isfahan in the first half of 2020. According to the inclusion criteria, 30 children were selected through convenience method and randomly divided into two groups of 15 ones as the experimental and control groups. The Lambert Adaptive Behavior Scale was used to collect the data. Finally, the data were analyzed by one-way covariance test using SPSS 21. Findings: These findings showed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test in adaptive skills in the experimental group (F=72.8; P=0.01). This difference was not found in control group (170.7±10.06; 171.3±10.6; P 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, play therapy helps the children to learn the adaptive skills; therefore, it is suggested that the play therapy, in addition to conventional treatment methods, could be used for these children in rehabilitation centers to establish a happy and creative environment.