Effectiveness of positive psychology on psychological well-being of mothers of autistic children

Aim: The present study is aimed at investigating the effects of games and activities based on Sher’s project on slow-paced children’s vitality and playfulness. Method: The population of the study consisted of all 6-8 year old slow-paced children of Isfahan City in the academic year 2015-2016. The sample size of the study included 30 male slow-paced students selected as participants via the convenience sampling technique and then were divided into two (15 participant) experimental and control groups. The research instruments were the Vitality Scale and Children's Playfulness Scale (CPS). The experimental group was trained by 24 one-hour sessions of games and activities based on Sher’s project, while the control group received no training. To analyze the data, SPSS-21 software and MANCOVA were employed. Results: The results indicated that games and activities based on Sher’s project are effective on vitality (p=0.001) and also components of playfulness such as physical spontaneity (p=0.001), social spontaneity (p=0.001), cognitive spontaneity (p=0.001), manifest of joy (p=0.001) and sense of humour (p=0.001) of slow-paced children. Conclusion: With regard to these results, it can be inferred that games and activities based on Sher’s project is an appropriate method for improving vitality and playfulness in slow-paced children and it can be used in educational and rehabilitation centers.