The art therapy significance in decreasing psychological manifestations to autistic children; a cross-sectional study

Abstract

A novel instrument was created and subsequently evaluated to enhance the assessment of treatment outcomes within the domain of art therapy (AT) for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The scale employed in this research is the OAT-A (Observation in Art Therapy with a Child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder instrument, which underwent a three-stage refinement process. Throughout each iteration, individuals responsible for assessing the efficacy of art therapy, such as art therapists and students, were provided with and examined four separate videos showcasing different art therapy sessions. The assessment of interrater reliability was conducted for each round, and necessary revisions were made to the items. In each iteration, the initial video was solely utilized for training objectives. During the third round, both instruments exhibited a satisfactory level of intercoder agreement. In order to effectively employ the OAT-A in clinical research, it is imperative to provide extensive training to raters. Ideally, this training should be conducted in a collaborative environment, which would enhance the ability to compare and evaluate their assessments. The current study posits that substantial efforts have been made to enable a systematic evaluation of art therapy in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), including the interventions conducted by the art therapist.