Show me what happens next: Preliminary efficacy of a remote play-based intervention for children with Prader-Willi syndrome.
Six Zoom pretend-play sessions can boost flexible thinking and play acts in 6- to 12-year-olds with Prader-Willi syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a six-week Zoom play club for kids with Prader-Willi syndrome. Each week a clinician led the child through pretend-play games that asked for new ideas and rule changes.
Fifteen children aged 6-12 logged in from home. No control group was used.
What they found
After the last session the kids showed stronger make-believe play and better cognitive flexibility. Parents reported the gains at home as well.
How this fits with other research
Thompson et al. (2024) extends this idea by moving the work to parents. They coached moms and dads to set up constructive play for preschoolers with delays and saw the same jump in child engagement, showing the tele-play model can travel across ages and agents.
TWCosta et al. (2017) used telehealth for a very different goal—cutting drooling—yet it backs the larger point: short remote check-ins can keep pediatric behavioral plans on track.
Stasolla et al. (2015) swapped live therapist for microswitch tech and still lifted constructive engagement in class. Together the four studies line up: remote or tech-aided setups can build skills when face-to-face visits are tough.
Why it matters
You now have proof that pretend play can be taught through a screen to kids with PWS. Use the same Zoom-plus-story-cards format during wait-list times or when miles keep you away. Script two scenes that force rule switches, measure how many new ideas the child adds, and send the clip to parents so they can prompt later. One remote club each week may keep cognitive rigidity from snowballing.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is characterized by decreased social and emotional functioning. Due to the low base-rate of children with PWS, developing behavioral interventions for individuals with PWS is faced with the challenge of enrolling enough local participants for adequate study of behavioral intervention efficacy. However, these types of studies are greatly needed in PWS and telehealth methodology may be useful in addressing this challenge. This article is a follow-up to a previous feasibility study (Dimitropoulos et al., 2017) and reports on the preliminary efficacy of a telehealth intervention delivered to 15 children, ages 6-12, with PWS. Overall, children demonstrated significantly improved cognitive and affective processes in pretend play and general cognitive flexibility following the 6-week remote intervention. These findings are limited by the lack of control group and small sample size which should be considered when interpreting results. Overall, these preliminary findings point to the potential role pretend play can serve as a means of enacting cognitive and behavioral change via telehealth.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103820