The PLAY Intensive Course
The PLAY Intensive Course is a professionally designed course that is fun, engaging, and practical.
Discover how to effectively and playfully engage young children with autism, on your own time!
The PLAY Intensive Course is a self-paced, professionally designed training that’s fun, engaging, and practical. Learn through real case studies, video examples, and hands-on activities that bring The PLAY Project approach to life.
Whether you’re a parent, therapist, or educator, you’ll gain skills to support children with autism using evidence-based methods, without rearranging your schedule. PLAY anywhere, anytime! You can access this course on your computer, tablet, or phone! This course can serve as a first step in pursuing the Certified PLAY Project and Teaching PLAY Consultant credential.
“[This course provided] new information, tools, skills, strategies, and ideas to use in my journey to better serve children with autism.” Katherine McCall Petke, Early Interventionist
About the course:
The PLAY Intensive Course is a comprehensive, self-paced online training designed to help parents and professionals learn how to effectively and playfully engage young children with autism. The course is divided into three main tracks that build upon each other—starting with foundational concepts and progressing to real-world case studies and family applications.
- Track 1: Foundations of The PLAY Project
- Learn the core principles and framework of The PLAY Project, including the 7 Circles of PLAY and the research supporting this evidence-based approach. You’ll explore what makes PLAY so powerful for child development and how to bring it into everyday interactions.
- Intensive Case Studies:
- Apply what you’ve learned to real-life examples. You’ll analyze video case studies featuring parent-child interactions to see how PLAY techniques work across different developmental levels.
- Track 2: Applying PLAY in Real-Life Settings (Professionals Course only)
- This section helps learners connect what they’ve learned to practical use within families and professional practice. You’ll also gain insight into the certification pathway if you wish to continue your PLAY Project journey.
- Track 3: Course Completion
- Finish your training by reflecting on your learning and demonstrating your understanding of the material.
Cost for Professionals: $295
Cost for Parents: $95
Buy Now, Redeem Later
Give the gift of PLAY! You can purchase this course for a friend, colleague, or loved one for them to access whenever they’d like! Or, buy it now for yourself & take when the timing is right for you!
Learning Objectives – After this course participants will be able to:
– Explain the 7 Circles of PLAY and how they relate to the PLAY Autism Intervention Program when working with children with ASD
– Define intensive autism intervention, including interventions that are categorized as play-based, developmental, and behavioral
– Identify techniques that help improve language, social skills, behavior, development, and play skills of children with autism
– Describe Greenspan’s 6 Functional Developmental Levels (FDLs) and how they relate to The PLAY Project Autism Intervention
– Identify the behaviors and symptoms of children who have sensory processing challenges
– Describe how a child’s unique profile is created and develop a plan to improve the child’s social interactions based on this profile
– Identify developmental progress and PLAY Project methods & techniques through the review of video case studies
Participants watch evidence based strategies, through case study videos, that promote engagement. Participants will take a post-test to show what they have learned.
Participants practice developing a child profile, after watching a case study video. Participants receive digital handouts that they can use to further practice these skills with children and families.
*Learning outcomes will be assessed through a PLAY Project self-evaluation post-test
Course completion requirements:
– Completion of the online course
– Participation in case study analysis
– Evaluation of course and self quiz/post-test
Who will benefit:
- Parents of children with autism
- Administrators and policy makers involved with autism services
- Behavioral health providers
- Early intervention and/or child development professionals
- SLP
- OT
- M.Ed.
- MSW
Course time:
Approximately 10 hours for professionals, 9 hours for parents.
Additional notes: Follow the steps here to make your Absorb account if this is the first time taking one of our courses
Policy Center: The PLAY Project is committed to a respectful, supportive and inclusive learning experience for all course participants. Our Policy Center, available via our website, outlines participants’ rights and The PLAY Project’s commitments.
Courses are supported on computers and smart devices.