Enhance your skills in profiling child development and learn effective strategies for autism intervention. Ideal for those seeking expertise in the PLAY approach.
The P.L.A.Y Project’s Autism Intervention Program
We train child development experts to coach parents
to help their young child with autism through play!
Welcome to The PLAY Project
The P.L.A.Y. (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) Project® is a parent implemented, intensive early intervention program for young children with autism that is evidence-based.
Far too many children with autism, or traits of autism, are waiting for services. Early intervention can make a profound difference in the life course of these children because their brains are developing at an incredible rate before the age of 7.
Children, including children with autism, learn best through play. The secret is knowing how to engage the child in a playful way that promotes his or her development.
The PLAY Project is delivered by parents who have been trained by PLAY Project Consultants, using their relationship and knowledge of their child to promote engagement.
Our fully online training is cost effective, easily implemented, and can serve large numbers of families efficiently.
“When you do what the child loves the child will love being with you.”
– Dr. Rick Solomon
The PLAY Project trains professionals to help parents. Our rigorous certification program has been shown by research to work.
Professionals trained in PLAY add a new set of tools to their service toolbox. Organizations offer an innovative, cost-effective, evidence-based model to their service array.
“The PLAY Project fit right into my early intervention program. I love the training and the materials. The families love the service and the children are doing great. I highly recommend this training program.”
– Bethany Russel, Early Intervention Therapist
Hundreds of professionals—including speech/language pathologists, occupational therapists, early interventionists, pre/school teachers, social workers, psychologists, and doctors—have successfully learned The PLAY Project’s practical and effective approach to helping families who have a young child with autism.
for more information about our certification training program for professionals, click here
The PLAY Project empowers parents, and other caregivers to engage the hard-to-engage child with autism. PLAY methods empower parents to build their skills and support their child with autism through the stages of development. The intensive intervention is fun and developmentally appropriate, making it easily applicable to a family’s daily activities.
Research shows that young children learn best through play and relationships with others. Play improves the child’s social functioning, an area where children with autism are challenged.
“My son is four and he has been in this program since he was 18 months. I as well have really learned so much. The techniques I have acquired have lead to this being the only way we play. I am forever thankful.”
-Parent
A 2015 pilot study of the Teaching PLAY program for preschools and kindergarten showed that teachers and school staff learned to implement PLAY Project methods in the classroom. Learn about Teaching PLAY.
Click Here if you are a School Administrator
A certified PLAY Project Consultant partners with families to build trust, promote family confidence and competence, and strengthen family-child relationships. PLAY sessions are typically 2-3 hours long, and take place in a family’s home once a month.
During each visit, using the 7 Circles of The PLAY Project approach, PLAY Consultants listen to updates from the family, answer questions, coach the family, and model techniques and activities. Consultants also collect 10-15 minutes of video for which they provide written feedback that is sent to the family for review between visits. Ongoing reassessments make sure the interventions are on point with the child’s needs.
Has proved that PLAY Project parents consistently learned the model and their children made gains in social interaction and decreased their autism severity much more than children who didn’t get The PLAY Project’s intervention.
About Dr. Richard Solomon
The PLAY Project was developed by Richard Solomon MD, a developmental behavioral pediatrician with over 25 years’ experience working with children who have ASD and their families.
The PLAY Project is based on the DIR® (Developmental, Individualized, Relationship-based) theory of Stanley Greenspan, MD and Serena Weider PhD, and emphasizes the importance of helping parents become their child’s best play partner.
