The PRETEND Program: An Exploration of Pretend Play
The Play-Based Remote Enrichment to Enhance Development Program, or PRETEND, is our lab’s current project, focusing on the development of social-cognitive skills through play in preschool and school-age children with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Because PWS is a rare disorder, PRETEND was developed as a remote intervention to reach a broader population of families. As PRETEND was evidenced as an effective method of improving pretend play skills, our next steps include further refinement of the program to include in-person delivery for preschool-age children, as well as exploring the program’s long-term effects in children and young adults.
Learn more about our current studies below, as well as how to get involved!
The Bringing PRETEND to You! Study
The most current adaptation of PRETEND is our PRETEND Program Resource Platform, a pilot website featuring asynchronous courses for parent and facilitator training and play intervention. In order to reach a greater bandwidth of families, the resource platform includes several modules and other resources to educate and train parents and local providers on our pretend play intervention.
Who can participate?
- Focus Groups:
- Parents of a child ages 3-9 diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome.
- Childcare professionals/providers with and without experience working with intellectual/developmental disabilites.
- Intervention:
- Preschool families of a child with PWS and a chosen local provider willing to complete the play intervention.
To learn more about this study or to fill out our interest form, please click the button below.
The Long-Term Effects of Pretend Play Study
We are conducting a study examining the long-term effects of play intervention on development in children with Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Who can participate?
- Children through young adults ages 8-20 with Prader-Willi Syndrome & their parent/primary caregiver.
To learn more about this study or to fill out our interest form, please click the button below.
For questions or more information about our studies, please contact Dr. Anastasia Dimitropoulos and her research team at neurodevelopmentresearchlab@gmail.com.
Our current research is supported by the Foundation for Prader-Willi Syndrome Research (FPWR).
