Investigating opinions and suggestions of parents and teachers about play skills and teaching with autism spectrum disorders

The play is a very precious skill for all children. The purpose of this study is to determine the opinions and suggestions of parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool children living in Eskişehir and the teachers working with them. For this purpose, semi-structured interview forms were prepared. Interviews were conducted in line with the principles determined by each participant during the negotiation process and the data were obtained. The data obtained from the research were analyzed descriptively. The reliability data of the study were collected by an expert. Findings revealed that most of the parents who participated in the study experienced behavior problems when they tried to play with their children. Most of the parents who participated in the research seem to need a person who needs to be a model for what should be done during the play process while teaching their play skills to their children. Most of the parents who participated in the research stated that some of the issues should be paid attention during the play. It is observed that most of the teachers who participated in the study were evaluated by the students who were diagnosed with ASD based on observation. It was observed that all of the teachers who participated in the study had difficulty in imaginary games and that they used visual materials in order to eliminate these difficulties. Most of the teachers who participated in the research were found to prefer the direct teaching method while some of the students who had been diagnosed with ASD were learning the play skills and some of them preferred to use the wrong method. The findings show that parents and teachers who participated in the research defined play skills as an activity supporting the development areas of the child. It was found out that the participants thought that the teaching of play skills to children who had been diagnosed with ASD was necessary because they were able to train with the play and support the child's development area. The findings indicate that parents and teachers participating in the study need visual material in teaching play skills to the child diagnosed with ASD. It is seen that most of the teachers who participated in the research evaluated their play skills based on observation by the students who have been diagnosed with ASD, and the teachers did not make any evaluations at the same rate. All of the teachers participating in the study have stated that they have difficulty in imaginary plays and that they have used visual materials to eliminate these difficulties. The findings of the study were correlated with the findings obtained in the literature and suggestions were made to the practitioners and researchers.