ABSTRACT
Group Theraplay was introduced by Phyllis Rubin, a speech pathologist and Janine Tregay, a teacher who wanted to create a sense of family in her special education class. Group Theraplay was at first adapted for peer groups ranging in age from preschoolers to the elderly involving various populations such as multi-cultural, children on the autism spectrum children with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, residential children and juvenile delinquents. Theraplay is based on replicating healthy normal parent/child interactions. The child is met at her/his emotional age, which in troubled children is often younger than their chronological age. The activities incorporated into Theraplay sessions help to stimulate the right hemisphere of the brain, which is the first hemisphere to mature and is dominant until three years of age. The right hemisphere is non-verbal, creative, processes social emotional experiences and is sensory based. One of the main characteristics of Theraplay is its emphasis on positive, physical touch.
