Children’s Play

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to raise the profile of play so that it is an important domain of concern for serving children with delays and disabilities, just as are the other five domains specified in federal law. A rationale for the integration of the behavioral perspective and the constructivist perspective is presented to contribute clarity to what play is and how it is used. Definitions are offered of what play is, how play is learned, and what individuals in the field have learned about play within each perspective. Critical future directions for research are discussed.

Teaching games to young children with autism spectrum disorder using special interests and video modelling

“…In this study, the special interests of the participants (i.e., Mickey Mouse and the princesses) were incorporated into the video "model" and intervention games in order to motivate the participants' play. By definition, play activities should provide enjoyable experiences for children (Jordan, 2003;Lifter et al, 2011), occurring spontaneously in the natural context without an adult's intensive involvement. This study extended the existing literature by demonstrating that the use of special interests and strengths of children with ASD can facilitate their ability to play games cooperatively and spontaneously with their typically developing peers (Angell et al, 2011;Baker, 2000;Baker et al, 1998;Campbell & Tincani, 2011;Keeling et al, 2003;Koegel et al, 2012;Spencer et al, 2008).…”

“…Research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may exhibit delayed play skills or repetitive play and have difficulty engaging in spontaneous play with peers, whereas typically developing children play and interact with peers in various ways (Blanc, Adrien, Roux, & Barthélémy, 2005;Boutot et al, 2005;Holmes & Willoughby, 2005;Lifter et al, 2011;Lydon, Healy, & Leader, 2011;Pierce-Jordan & Lifter, 2005;Thomas & Smith, 2004).…”

“…For young children, play provides opportunities to acquire critical developmental skills as well as to engage in activities with peers during daily routines (Boucher & Wolfberg, 2003;Boutot, Guenther, & Crozier, 2005;Lifter, Mason, & Barton, 2011;Pierce-Jordan & Lifter, 2005). Research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may exhibit delayed play skills or repetitive play and have difficulty engaging in spontaneous play with peers, whereas typically developing children play and interact with peers in various ways (Blanc, Adrien, Roux, & Barthélémy, 2005;Boutot et al, 2005;Holmes & Willoughby, 2005;Lifter et al, 2011;Lydon, Healy, & Leader, 2011;Pierce-Jordan & Lifter, 2005;Thomas & Smith, 2004).…”

“…As the nature of play is inherently pleasurable and spontaneous (Jordan, 2003;Lifter et al, 2011), targeted play skills may need to be selected based on the interests and strengths of children with ASD (Jung & Sainato, 2013). Playing games requires the participant to understand and follow the rules within a structured and predictable context.…”

“…The outcomes from a variety of play skills intervention studies suggested play skills instruction should be intentional, systematic, and be provided explicitly and directly (Jung & Sainato, 2013;Lifter et al, 2011). According to Jung and Sainato (2013), the common features of effective play skills interventions include motivational strategies, selection of appropriate targeted play skills, task analysis of the play skills, teaching/modelling of each step of the skills, and provision of systematic prompts.…”