Increasing the athletic group play of children with autism.

The team worked with children with autism who rarely joined group games. First they taught each child how to throw, catch, and hit a ball. Next they added clear rules for handball and four-square.

They used behavioral skills training: show the skill, practice together, give feedback, and repeat until smooth. The design tracked each child one at a time so changes could be seen clearly.

After skills plus rules training, every child jumped into the games and talked more with peers. The gains stayed strong eight to sixteen weeks later.

The skills did not move to recess time, even though recess had the same equipment. Kids needed the trained structure to keep playing.

Covey et al. (2021) got similar big play gains, but they trained typical peers to run the games instead of the child with autism. Both studies show BST works; the choice of who gets trained can fit your setting.

Shireman et al. (2016) flipped the learner role again, teaching adults with autism to lead play. Their positive results widen the same playbook to older ages.

Tiede et al. (2019) pooled twenty-seven studies and found small-to-medium boosts in play and language from naturalistic methods. The current study gives one clear recipe—skills first, rules second—that lands in the large-effect zone of that wider average.

You can copy the two-step plan in any gym or playground. Teach the motor pieces until they are easy, then layer on the rules while kids stay active. Keep the routine tight at first; free-choice recess will need extra support later. The study gives you a ready script and a warning: plan for generalization or the new skills may stay inside your training square.