40 March & April 2025. Volume 14. Num 1 Background and Aims According to the social movaon theory, children with ausm spectrum disorder (ASD) have reduced social movaon. This study aims to compare the effect of nature-based play therapy and therapeuc horseback riding (THR) on the Stanford social dimensions in adolescents with ASD. Methods This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test/post-test design. The parcipants were 36 adolescents aged 10-16 years with high-funconing ASD in Bojnourd, Iran, who were selected using a convenience sampling method. They were randomly put in three groups: THR, play therapy, and control. The experimental groups underwent intervenon for 8 weeks. Before and aſter the intervenon, The Stanford social dimensions scale (SSDS) was completed by the parents of children. Paired t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for within-group and between-group comparisons, respecvely. Results The results of the paired t-test showed that a significant improvement in all SSDS dimensions in the THR and play therapy groups from the pre-test to post-test phases (P<0.05). The results of ANCOVA showed a significant difference in the post-test stage between the three groups in all SSDS dimensions of social movaon (P<0.001), social affiliaon (P<0.001), social communicaon (P<0.001), social recognion (P<0.001) and unusual approach (P<0.001). The results of post hoc test showed that the THR group had significantly beer scores in social movaon, social affiliaon, social communicaon and social recognion compared to the play therapy group. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the domain of unusual approach (P>0.05). Conclusion Both THR and nature-based play therapy can improve the Stanford social dimensions in adolescents with ASD, where the THR is more effecve. Therefore, playing in nature and contact with horses are recommended for development of the key social dimensions in adolescents with ASD. Keywords Play therapy, Therapeuc horseback riding, Social movaon, Ausm A B S T R A C T Received: 11 Jun 202 Accepted: 29 Jul 2024 Available Online: 21 Mar 2025 Citaon Qeysari SF, Sheikh M, Homanian D, Bagherzadeh F. [Comparing the Effects of Play-based Training and Therapeuc Horseback Riding on the Stanford Social Dimensions in Adolescents With Ausm Spectrum Disorder: Examining the Theory of Social Movaon (Persian)]. Scienfic Journal of Rehabilitaon Medicine. 2025; 14(1):40-55. hps://dx.doi.org/10.32598/SJRM.14.1.3279 https://dx.doi.org/10.32598/SJRM.14.1.3279 Use your device to scan and read the arcle online Research Paper Comparing the Effects of Play-based Training and Therapeuc Horseback Riding on the Stanford Social Dimensions in Adolescents With Ausm Spectrum Disorder: Examining the Theory of Social Movaon 1. Department of Behavioral and Cognive Sports Sciences, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Seyyed Fardin Qeysari 1 , *Mahmoud Sheikh 1 , Davood Homanian 1 , Fazlollah Bagherzadeh 1 * Corresponding Author: Mahmoud Sheikh, Professor. Address: Department of Behavioral and Cognive Sports Sciences, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Tel: +98 (21) 61118879 E-Mail: msheikh@ut.ac.ir Copyright © 2025 The Author(s); This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-By-NC: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.en), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.