Effectiveness puppet play therapy on adaptive behavior and social skills in boy children with intellectual disability

Background: Mentally retarded influences social skills and adaptive behavior in children. That leads to social and communication impairment and adjusting social problem. Therefore, this research investigates the influence of puppet play therapy on adaptive behavior and social skills in male children with mentally retarded. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental study with pre and post-tests. 30 mentally retarded male children selected through the criteria from Noreslam School of Varamin County in 2016-2017. They were assigned randomly to the control and intervention groups. The intervention group received puppet play therapy for eight treatment sessions (25 minutes for each session, twice a week). The research instruments were Vineland Social Maturity Scales and Adaptive Behavior Index of Limbert (ABIC). Statistical analysis conducted by analysis of covariance. Results: Findings indicated that the mean’s scores of six subscales of adaptive behavior including  violent and disruptive behavior (F= 2.61, p= 0.007), antisocial behavior (F= 3.41, p=0.016), rebellious behavior (F= 2.41, p= 0.011), untrustworthy behavior (F= 8.20, p= 0.008), stereotyped behavior (F= 0.87, p= 0.039), unacceptable of eccentric habit (F= 5.51, p= 0.026), and in Vineland social maturity (F= 1.09, p= 0.305) after intervention, in research groups were significantly difference. In addition, the results of variance indicated that there is not a significant difference between withdrawal behavior (F= 0.93, p= 0.34), inappropriate social behavior (F=4.23, p= 0.069), unacceptable vocal habits (F= 4.77, p= 0.078), hyperactive tendencies (F= 1.55, p= 0.223), and psychological disturbance (F=3.69, p = 0.065), five subscales of adaptive behavior. Conclusions: Puppet play therapy improves adaptive behavior and social skills in children with mentally retarded. Hence, it is necessary to utilize it in order to decrease social skills deficits and promote social adjustment in children with mentally retarded.