Investigation of the effect of interactive art activity program on repetitive behaviors, social skills, and parents' emotions in children with autism spectrum disorder

Aim: The research was carried out to examine the effects of interactive art activity program on repetitive behaviors, social skills and parents' emotions in children with autism spectrum disorder. Material and method: The research was carried out in autism classes and special education and rehabilitation centers of children diagnosed with autism in Batman city center between September 2021 and March 2022. The study was concluded with 28 children with ASD (5-17 years old) and their mothers (13 experiments, 15 controls). Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the ASSP-T Form, the Quality of Life in Autism Questionnaire-Parent Edition, and the Social Impact Form of the Repetitive Behaviors in Children with Autism Scale. In the analysis, in the comparison of the pre-test, post-test and retention data in the application group, repeated measures ANOVA was used if the data were suitable for normal distribution, and Friedman analysis was used if not. In the comparison of the data in the control group, the Paired T test was used if the data were suitable for normal distribution, and the Wilcoxon test was used if it was not. Results: After the training, it was concluded that there was a significant difference p<0.05 on Social Skills, Repetitive Behaviors and Quality of Life of the children and mothers in the experimental group, and there was no significant difference in the control group in general. Conclusion: It was determined that the interactive art activity program of children with autism had a positive effect on repetitive behaviors, social skills, and parents' emotions Keywords: Autism, Art, Social Development, Repetitive Behavior, Quality of Life.