The Effectiveness of Floor Time Treatment on the Behavioral Activation System of Children with Autism

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Floor Time treatment on the behavioral activation system of children with autism.In terms of the purpose, the current research was of an applied type, and in terms of the method, based on the research design and method, it was a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design (with an experimental group and a control group and a three-month follow-up period). The statistical population used in this research included all children with autism disorder who visited the therapy centers of the 5th district of Tehran in 2022, and among these people, 40 people were selected using the purposive sampling method and were randomly assigned to an experimental group. (20 people) and a control group (20 people) were assigned. Then, the Floor Time Wells (2009) treatment package was implemented on the experimental group. In order to collect data, the research tool included the revised scale of sensitivity to reinforcement by Jackson (2009). In order to statistically analyze the data, analysis of variance with repeated measurements and Bonferroni's post hoc test and SPSS software version 26 were used. According to the F-value and the significance obtained for the behavioral activation system variable (F = 6.15 and P = 0.001), it can be concluded that the independent variable (Floor Time therapy) significantly changes the dependent variable (behavioral activation system). Therefore, it can be concluded that the changes in the dependent variables were caused by the implementation of Floor Time treatment on the experimental group. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that Floor Time treatment was effective on the behavioral activation system of children with autism. Therefore, it is suggested that experts benefit from the techniques of this approach in their work.