Home play therapy shows promise for autism social skills
NCT ID NCT07708246
First seen Jul 16, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a parent-led, home-based play program designed to improve social cognitive skills—like recognizing emotions and understanding others' perspectives—in young children with autism. Parents are trained to deliver daily 30-minute cooperative games for six months, with monthly video feedback from a clinician. Researchers measure changes in social attention using eye-tracking and theory-of-mind tasks, comparing children in the program to those receiving usual care.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a parent-mediated, home-based structured play program called the Companion Mind-Drawing Cooperative Game Program
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer families a low-cost, home-based way to boost social skills like understanding others' thoughts and emotions in young children with autism.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, non-randomized study, so results may not apply to all children. The program requires daily parent effort for six months, and improvements may be modest or hard to measure.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
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Study contacts
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Contact
Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Children's Hospital of Fudan University
RECRUITINGShanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 201102, China
Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
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