1. Researchers’ names: Doctoral Students Rebecca Frantz, PI (rfrantz@uoregon.edu), Sarah Hansen & Jake Mahon; Faculty Advisor Wendy Machalicek (wmachali@uoregon.edu)

2. Study Title: Father-Mediated Play Intervention

3. Phase of study: The IRB has been accepted, and they are currently recruiting participants as of Fall 2015.

4. Population or age group: Children with ASD ages 3-5 and limited play skills.

5. Summary:There is limited research about father involvement in interventions, despite research suggesting that fathers play a critical role in child development. This study will use a concurrent multiple baseline design across four father-child dyads to examine the effects of father-mediated play intervention on symbolic play skills and creativity of play in young children with ASD. Fathers will be taught to use naturalistic behavioral teaching strategies in the home environment to target child play skills. It is anticipated that fathers will be able to learn how to implement the naturalistic behavioral intervention with fidelity and there will be improvement in child play skills.

6. Opportunity for Participation: Assistance  with recruitment father-child dyads would be appreciated. Additionally, assistance with  coding parent and child behavior will be needed when the study begins.