A pairwise randomised controlled trial of a peer-mediated play-based intervention to improve the social play skills of children with ADHD: Outcomes of the typically-developing playmates

Sarah Wilkes-Gillan; Reinie Cordier; Anita Bundy; Michelle Lincoln; Yu-Wei Chen; Lauren Parsons; Alycia Cantrill

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0276444

A pairwise randomised controlled trial of a peer-mediated play-based intervention to improve the social play skills of children with ADHD: Outcomes of the typically-developing playmates

PLoS One. 2022 Oct 25;17(10):e0276444. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276444. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sarah Wilkes-Gillan¹, Reinie Cordier^{2

3}, Anita Bundy⁴, Michelle Lincoln⁵, Yu-Wei Chen¹, Lauren Parsons³, Alycia Cantrill¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
³ Curtin School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
⁴ Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
⁵ Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Abstract

To examine the effectiveness of a play-based intervention for improving social play skills of typically-developing playmates of children with ADHD. Children (5-11 years) were randomised to an intervention (n = 15) or waitlisted control group (n = 14). The Test of Playfulness was scored by a blinded rater. Between-group statistics compared the change of the intervention (10-week intervention) and waitlisted control (10-week wait) groups. Change in the intervention group following intervention was significantly greater than the change in the waitlisted control group. When combining data from the groups, playmates' (n = 29) mean ToP scores improved significantly following intervention, with a large effect pre- to post-intervention and pre-intervention to follow-up. Typically-developing playmates of children with ADHD benefited from participation in a peer-mediated intervention.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / therapy
Child
Humans
Occupational Therapy*
Peer Group
Play and Playthings
Social Skills