Comparative Study of Painting and Storytelling Effects on attachment of Children with Autism

Introduction: We can see Attachment manners in spectrum disorder of children with autism, when they feel stressed. Drawing and storytelling are low-cost, and simple ways for the least literacy families to improve clinical conditions in children with autism. So this study is comparing the painting and storytelling impacts on children with autism. Materials and Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental interventional study conducted in 2020. The research samples included 35 children with autism who referred to the rehabilitation centers of Iran University Medical Sciences (12 in the storytelling group, 11 in the painting group and 12 in the control group). Data collection tools were included demographic characteristics questionnaire and CSHQ sleep habits questionnaire which were collected in two stages before and after the intervention. It was conducted at least 5 nights a week for a month. Data analysis of and the results was performed at a significant 0.05 level. Results: Storytelling group average age was 7.58 1 1.78, for painting was 1.36 75 1.75 and control was 6.58 78 1.78. The results indicated that attachment mean in the two groups storytelling and painting was consist of a significant difference (p 0.05). The attachment average differences for the storytelling group are significantly lower than the painting group, so the average differences are reported to be -3.3. (-2.27 t =, p = 0.034). Discussion and Conclusion: Storytelling and painting were effective in attachment improvement of children with autism. And of course, as it was observed, painting was more effective than story. Based on results, for performing more interventions, especially in children with autism, painting is recommended, because it is inexpensive, effective and practical in sleep disorder management.