What Is the Play Project?

PLAY Project is showing that the bond between parent and child can be used to bring children through a once-hidden doorway and into the warmth of a relationship. Half of the children who undergo the treatment improve significantly, 25 percent exhibit moderate improvement, and 25 percent (usually children with other physical or developmental problems) see little improvement.

The logic is almost exquisitely simple: rather than forcing a child to join the world, parents are taught to enter the child’s world and, over time, to become a trusted guide to the outside. Rather than trying to manage or control their child’s behaviors through coaxing, punishment or treats, parents are trained to follow the child’s lead, whether that means sitting quietly side by side waiting for a tiny flash of eye contact, exploring a light switch, or lying on the floor kicking the wall over and over. The key is that they are together in a place where the child feels most comfortable.

The approach is based on new knowledge about autism’s roots in the
brain, and about the ability of very young children’s brains to absorb new
knowledge and develop new skills — even if their initial development was
stunted by autism. Between 18 months and 6 years of age, children’s brains
are the most “plastic,” making early detection of autism, and early
intervention, all the more important to the eventual outcome.