Some children, especially those with autism, do not lead with words. They lead with movement, with objects, with how they interact with the space around them. Play is not just how they have fun. It is often how they think, process, and connect. Play therapy starts there.
For autistic children in Dubai, a play-based approach can open doors to communication, social skills, emotional regulation, and genuine connection in a way that clinic-style structured sessions sometimes cannot.
Asha Susan Mani, BCBA (USA), has spent more than 20 years working with autistic children across the UAE. She brings ABA frameworks into play-based work so that what happens in sessions is both engaging for the child and producing progress families can actually see.
What it does: Uses structured, play-based activities within ABA and developmental support to build communication, social skills, emotional regulation, and engagement
Who it is for: Children with autism from toddler age through early school years, including children who are non-verbal, minimally verbal, or struggling with social communication
Key outcome: Meaningful progress in communication, emotional regulation, and social engagement through an approach the child can actually participate in willingly
Method: Play-based therapeutic techniques integrated with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) principles and developmental frameworks
Format: In-person sessions in Dubai, with guidance for parents on how to extend the work into everyday home routines
Location: Karama, Dubai, accessible for families from Bur Dubai, Deira, Mankhool, and surrounding areas
Who Play Therapy Is For
Play therapy for autism is not a one-size-fits-all service, and not every child needs the same approach within it. The families who benefit most from this service share some common ground.
Play therapy is relevant for:
Children with autism who are non-verbal or minimally verbal and have not responded well to more traditional, language-heavy therapy formats
Toddlers and young children in the early stages of autism intervention who need a gentler, more natural entry point into structured support
Children who shut down, resist, or become distressed in conventional therapy settings and need an approach that feels less demanding
Families whose child has an autism diagnosis but is not yet ready for a full ABA therapy program and needs a bridging approach
Children who struggle significantly with emotional regulation, meltdowns, and managing frustration in ways that speech-focused therapy has not addressed
Autistic children who have very limited peer interaction and need support building the foundational social skills that come before conversation
School-age children in Dubai whose social difficulties are affecting classroom participation and peer relationships in ways that conventional support has not reached
Families who have tried other approaches without the progress they hoped for and want to explore a play-based framework as an alternative or complement
The Problems Play Therapy for Autism Addresses
The child resists therapy because it does not feel natural to them.
Some children, particularly those with autism, may become distressed in highly structured therapy sessions. Using familiar and motivating play activities can provide a more natural entry point for building communication, social interaction, and participation while clinical goals remain clearly defined.
The child is not yet verbal and standard communication therapy is not reaching them.
For children who are not yet using words or who use very few, communication support starts where the child actually is. That might mean working on shared attention, turn-taking, or simple back-and-forth interaction through play before moving toward language goals. Building those foundations first tends to make everything that comes after more effective.
Emotional regulation is a daily crisis and nothing the family tries is helping.
Meltdowns, rigid routines, and strong reactions to noise, touch, or unexpected changes are exhausting to manage without knowing what is actually driving them. Sometimes it is sensory processing. Sometimes it is communication. Sometimes it is both. Play-based and behavioral support helps figure out what is behind these responses and builds skills that make daily life more manageable for the child and the family.
Social skills are significantly lower than peers, and the child does not know how to connect.
Many autistic children genuinely want to connect with other children but do not have the foundational social skills to do it. They do not know how to initiate play, read social cues, take turns in an unstructured game, or repair a social interaction that goes wrong. Play therapy builds those skills in context, not in a worksheet, which is where they need to exist to be useful.
School has flagged concerns about social participation and the family has no clinical plan.
A nursery or school can observe that a child is isolated from peers, does not join group activities, or responds very differently to social situations than other children the same age. What schools cannot do is provide the clinical interpretation or the support plan that those observations need. Play therapy gives families a structured, evidence-informed response to what the school is seeing.
What Happens During Play Therapy Sessions
Step 1: Parent Consultation and Background Review
Before any session with the child begins, time is spent with the parents or caregivers. This covers the child's developmental history, what has been tried before, what the child responds to and what shuts them down, and what the family's specific concerns and goals are. Any existing assessments, school reports, or diagnostic documents are reviewed at this stage. This context is not optional background. It shapes the entire therapeutic approach.
Step 2: Child Observation and Initial Assessment
The first direct sessions with the child focus on observation rather than structured tasks. The goal is to understand how the child plays naturally, what captures their attention, how they respond to another person entering their space, and where their current communication and social engagement actually sits. Pushing clinical targets before this picture is clear produces weaker outcomes.
Step 3: Identifying the Right Play-Based Framework for the Child
Play therapy is not a single method. Different approaches suit different children depending on their developmental level, sensory profile, communication abilities, and how they respond to adult involvement in their play. The framework used is chosen based on what the assessment reveals about the individual child, not based on a standard protocol applied uniformly.
Step 4: Structured Play Sessions With Clinical Targets
Once the right approach is established, sessions become more structured in their clinical purpose while remaining child-led in their feel. Specific targets are built into the play, whether that is building shared attention, expanding functional communication, introducing turn-taking, or developing the child's tolerance for social interaction. Progress toward each target is tracked across sessions so the plan can be adjusted based on what is actually happening.
Step 5: Parent Coaching and Home Integration
What happens between sessions matters as much as what happens during them. Parents receive practical coaching on how to extend the play-based strategies into daily routines at home. The goal is for the child to be building the same skills across multiple environments and relationships, not just in one room with one adult once or twice a week.
What Families Can Expect
Families who engage consistently with individualized play-based support may work toward progress in areas such as:
Increased willingness to engage with another person during play, including an adult or peer
Growth in shared attention, the ability to focus on the same thing as another person at the same time
More functional communication, whether verbal, gestural, or through other supported means
Reduced frequency or intensity of emotional regulation difficulties as the child builds coping tools through the therapeutic process
Greater flexibility in play and daily routines, even if slowly and incrementally
A child who is less distressed in social situations because the foundational skills are being built in a way that feels manageable
Parents who understand what the child needs in the moment and have specific tools for supporting that at home
Why Starting Earlier Can Help
Early identification and intervention can help children with autism build important developmental and functional skills. The CDC notes that early intervention can improve children's development and help them learn new skills, while also emphasizing that intervention can be helpful at any age.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that early intervention can improve development and help children learn new skills, while intervention at any age can still be helpful.
This does not mean play therapy is ineffective for older children. It is not. But the clinical reality is that the earlier the foundational work begins, the more time the child has to build on it during the years when building is happening most naturally.
About Asha Susan Mani
Asha Susan Mani, BCBA (USA), is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with more than 20 years of experience supporting children with autism across the UAE. Her ABA-based approach can incorporate play, social interaction, and naturalistic learning opportunities to build communication, social skills, emotional regulation, and participation.
What she brings specifically to play therapy is the integration of ABA clinical frameworks with play-based methods. This combination allows play and other motivating activities to be incorporated into an ABA-based clinical framework, with goals that can be tracked, reviewed, and adjusted according to the child's progress. The integration of both gives families an approach that the child actually engages with and that a clinician can track, review, and adjust over time.
Multilingual families are a regular part of this caseload. Many families in Dubai are raising children across two or more languages and cultural contexts, and the therapy approach accounts for that complexity rather than treating it as a complicating factor to work around.
Author and Clinical Review
Author: Asha Susan Mani, BCBA (USA) | IBA-Certified Behavior Analyst
Professional title: Senior Autism Consultant and Behavior Analyst
“Asha is doing wonderful work with children on the autism spectrum. She is
highly professional in her approach, very systematic in her treatment design and interventions, and an
excellent facilitator between home and school. Parents often report how quickly their children have
transitioned into mainstream schooling after working under Asha’s guidance.”
★★★★★
ON
Dr. Onita Nakra
Educational Psychologist, Dubai
“My appreciation for your outstanding efforts in helping so many children
return to mainstream education. As you are aware, parents often face significant emotional challenges while
raising such wonderful children, partly due to societal reactions and partly due to rigid systems. I can
confidently say that you have done a great deal to ease that burden and support families through their
journey.”
★★★★★
SR
Dr. Sundar R
Dubai
“Mrs. Asha has been working with our son, Ahmed Khan, and we have seen clear
improvement over the past few months. Initially, Ahmed had frequent emotional outbursts, difficulty
following instructions, short attention span, and struggled with transitions between activities. Mrs. Asha
developed a structured plan and introduced simple, consistent strategies such as visual schedules, clear
first–then instructions, positive reinforcement, and planned transition warnings. She also guided us on how
to respond calmly and consistently during challenging behaviours at home. She regularly reviewed his
progress, adjusted goals when needed, and ensured we were involved in every step of the process. Ahmed is
now more settled, follows instructions better, and has improved in managing daily routines and transitions.
We are very grateful for Mrs. Asha’s guidance and support.”
★★★★★
SK
Mrs. Sara Khan
Parent · Behaviour Support
“Mrs. Asha has been supporting our daughter, Lavanya Nair (4 years old), who
was diagnosed with ADHD and was facing significant behavioural challenges in nursery. Initially, Lavanya had
difficulty sitting in class, frequent impulsive behaviours, emotional outbursts, and struggled with
following group instructions. The nursery also reported concerns about her attention and participation in
structured activities. Mrs. Asha conducted a detailed assessment and introduced a structured ABA-based plan
in coordination with the therapy team. She implemented clear routines, visual supports, reinforcement
strategies, and short, achievable task instructions to improve attention and compliance. Over a period of 4
months, we saw noticeable improvements. Lavanya is now more regulated in class, follows simple instructions
better, and her tantrums have reduced significantly. We are very grateful to Mrs. Asha and her team for
their consistent support and close collaboration.”
★★★★★
PN
Mrs. Priya Nair
Parent · ADHD Support
“Our son, Philip Cruz (3.5 years old), was referred to Mrs. Asha by his
nursery, Chubby Cheeks Nursery, Dubai, due to concerns around limited communication, difficulty following
group instructions, and frequent frustration during structured activities. When we started, Philip often
struggled with transitions and would become upset during classroom routines. Mrs. Asha conducted a detailed
assessment and introduced a structured behaviour plan using visual cues, consistent routines, and positive
reinforcement strategies. She also worked closely with his ABA therapist and the nursery team to ensure a
consistent approach across all environments. Within a few months, we noticed clear improvements. Philip is
now more settled in class, follows instructions more consistently, and is gradually engaging better with
peers and teachers. We are very grateful to Mrs. Asha for her guidance and practical strategies.”
★★★★★
EC
Mrs. Elena Cruz
Parent · Behaviour Support
“Our son, Arjun Menon (5 years old), was referred to Mrs. Asha by his
pediatrician at Aster Clinic, Al Qusais, for ADHD-related concerns, including inattention, hyperactivity,
and difficulty following instructions at home and school. Mrs. Asha conducted an assessment and introduced a
structured behavior plan using visual schedules, clear routines, reinforcement strategies, and parent
guidance. She also coordinated closely with the ABA therapist and school to ensure consistency across all
settings. Within a few months, Arjun showed noticeable improvement in attention, behavior regulation, and
daily routines. We are very grateful for Mrs. Asha’s support and structured approach.”
★★★★★
NM
Mrs. Neha Menon
Parent · ADHD Support
Play Therapy vs. Waiting for the Child to Catch Up
With Play Therapy
Without Structured Support
Communication
Building foundational skills in a format the child engages with
Skills gap widens while families wait
Social connection
Targeted work on shared attention, turn-taking, peer interaction
Isolation deepens across the school years
Emotional regulation
Tools built in clinical context and extended into daily routines
Daily management without clinical framework
Parent confidence
Specific strategies for home, not generic advice
Uncertainty about what to do and when
School participation
Clinical guidance provided for the classroom
School and family working independently
Progress tracking
Targets reviewed and adjusted regularly
No clear measure of whether things are improving
Frequently Asked Questions About Play Therapy for Autism in Dubai
If your child resists structured therapy, is not yet verbal, or is struggling significantly with connecting to other people, play therapy is often a useful starting point or complement to other support. A consultation can help clarify whether it is the right fit for where your child currently is developmentally.
No, and this one comes up a lot. Play therapy is not just free play with a professional in the room. From the child's side it feels like playing, which is the point. But the therapist is working toward specific targets the whole time, whether that is communication, social skills, or developmental goals. The structure is clinical even when the session does not look like it.
Mrs. Asha offers play therapy for autism at her clinic in Karama, Dubai. It is easy to reach for families coming from Bur Dubai, Deira, Mankhool, and surrounding areas. For families who cannot travel regularly, guidance on extending play-based strategies at home is also built into the service. Get in touch by phone or WhatsApp to check availability.
This is one of the patterns play therapy specifically addresses. Restricted, repetitive play is not a reason to avoid play therapy. It is actually a useful clinical starting point because the therapist builds into what the child already does before gradually expanding the repertoire. Forcing variety before the child is ready tends to produce resistance, not progress.
Yes, and this is actually one of the areas where play therapy tends to produce the most noticeable change. Skills like paying attention alongside another child, waiting for a turn, and simply tolerating another child in the same space are things play therapy builds directly. Many children who avoid group activities at nursery make real progress in this area, especially when the nursery is brought into the loop and given specific guidance to follow alongside the sessions.
ABA therapy is a broader clinical approach. It uses behavioral principles to work on communication, behavior, daily living skills, and social functioning together. Play therapy is more specific. It uses play as the main vehicle for building skills, which works particularly well for younger children or those who do not respond well to structured sessions. The two can be used together when the child's profile and goals call for it.
Yes. Play therapy does not require a child to play the way most children do. The starting point is whatever the child does engage with, whether that is sensory play, object exploration, movement, or repetitive routines. The therapist works within the child's natural interests and gradually expands from there rather than imposing a play format the child finds meaningless.
Play-based support tends to work well for toddlers and preschool-age children because play is where early communication, social interaction, and learning naturally happen for young children. It is not just an activity. It is the context in which a lot of developmental work actually gets done. Older children with autism can also benefit, particularly when the goals involve connecting with peers, participating in group settings, or building emotional regulation skills. What is appropriate depends on the individual child.
No. A formal diagnosis is not required to begin. Many families start play therapy while a diagnostic assessment is still in progress, particularly when the child's difficulties are clearly affecting daily life and the family cannot afford to wait for a diagnostic conclusion before getting support started.
This is one of the most common reasons families switch to or add a play-based approach. A child who resists structured sessions is usually telling the therapist that the format does not match how they learn. Play therapy changes the entry point. Beginning with activities the child already finds engaging can provide a more natural entry point for participation and allow clinical goals to be introduced gradually.
Session frequency and length depend on the child's age, profile, and goals. That gets worked out at the start and adjusted as things move along. What actually makes the difference is showing up consistently. Each session builds on the last one, so regular attendance matters a lot more than hitting a specific number of visits.
How often a child comes in and how long each session runs depends on the child's age, profile, and what the goals are. That is worked out at the start and revisited as things progress. What actually drives results is consistency. Play therapy builds on what happened in the previous session, so regular attendance matters more than any fixed number of visits.
School feedback like this is worth following up with a clinical professional rather than waiting to see whether it resolves on its own. A consultation can clarify what the school is observing, whether play therapy is the right response, and what guidance can be shared with the school to support the child during the school day alongside formal sessions.
This depends on the child and the stage of therapy. For some children, a parent's presence in the room helps them settle. For others, it changes how they behave in ways that affect the clinical picture. This is discussed at the start and adjusted based on what produces the best environment for the child to engage genuinely.
Most young children are not. The session is structured to feel like play, which is intentional. The clinical targets are embedded in the activities rather than explained to the child as goals they need to work toward. For many autistic children, particularly those who become anxious in structured settings, this makes a significant difference to how well they engage.
Specific targets are set at the start and reviewed regularly across sessions. Progress is tracked in measurable terms, whether that is an increase in shared attention, new communicative behaviors, more flexible play patterns, or reduced distress in social situations. Fun and clinical progress are not mutually exclusive, but one without the other is not the goal.
Earlier support does tend to produce stronger results, but that does not mean the window closes at school entry. Primary school-age children with autism often gain a lot from individualized support, especially around connecting with peers, managing emotions in a group setting, and building the social communication skills that the school day demands every single day.
Insurance coverage varies quite a bit between plans. Some policies in Dubai cover developmental therapy for children with autism, some cover part of it, and some do not cover it at all. Call your insurer and ask specifically about developmental therapy coverage. Then confirm with the clinic before the first session so there are no billing surprises afterward.
Play therapy uses play to build communication, social, and emotional skills. Sensory integration therapy focuses specifically on how a child takes in and responds to sensory information. Some children need elements of both. The assessment helps identify which one makes more sense as a starting point for that particular child.
Get in touch directly by phone or WhatsApp. The first conversation is usually a brief discussion about your child's situation to make sure this is the right service and to set up the initial session appropriately. The clinic is in Karama and is easy to reach for families across Bur Dubai, Deira, Mankhool, and central Dubai. A free initial consultation is available for families who want to understand the process before committing.
Areas We Serve in Dubai
We provide autism therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, ABA therapy, and child development support to families in Karama, Bur Dubai, Mankhool, Oud Metha, Umm Hurair, Al Jafiliya, Al Raffa, Al Fahidi, Al Satwa, Zabeel, and Dubai Healthcare City, as well as surrounding areas within approximately 10 km of Karama.
Ready to Find an Approach That Truly Works for Your Child?
Some children need a different entry point into therapy before anything else can progress. Play therapy gives autistic children a clinical framework that fits how they actually engage with the world, rather than asking them to meet the demands of a format that does not.
If standard approaches have not produced the results your family hoped for, or if your child is too young or too distressed for more structured therapy, play therapy in Dubai is worth exploring.
