A Systematic Observational Study

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

The observational data was prepared by using the time interval sampling method. The intervals consisted of a consecutive fifteen second spacing. The observation was based off four different videos with a bell sounding off every fifteen second. Separate charts that contained basic information about each child such as, name, age, sex, etc., was used with various categories of behaviours associated with social and cognitive play. One check mark was added every interval when a certain behaviour was present. The data collected also included a ranking system that prioritized behaviours. Once all the data was collected social and cognitive play scores were computed to get the total, relative and average frequency of each child, these calculations are show on Appendix A Table 1. A miscellaneous category was also included; the calculations can be found on Appendix A under Table 2. Both calculations from Table 1 and 2 were used to determine and support specific hypotheses.

“Teaching Play Skills to Children with Autism Using Visually Structured Task”, written by Patricia K. Hampshire and Jack J. Hourcade, focuses on teaching a 7-year-old boy named Keith that has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play skills. Keith’s special education teacher, Ms. Pool, and his first grade general education teacher, Ms. Carter, have been concerned with Keith’s social isolation in the classroom and believe that he would gain a great deal if he strengthened his social interaction with peers and developed more suitable play behaviors with toys.

However, the play therapy is changed for those with disabilities. Kids that weren’t born with disabilities versus the kids that were both tend to express their feelings out in different ways. A child with autism spectrum disorder, for instance, could play with the same toy as a non-disabled child, but that toy wouldn’t represent the same meaning. It’s very similar to comparing two different toys side by side and realizing that depending on how the child uses each, they also mean different things in this way too. Some schools (elementary

Autism is a rare disease that can be characterized by a “neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by the inability to relate to and perceive the environment in the realistic manner.” (Anthes, 1997) The signs of autism are mainly found in infants to young children usually between the ages of newborn to two years. The main symptoms that are discussed are “impairment in social interaction fixation of inanimate objects, inability to communicate normally, and resistance to changes in their daily routine.” (Anthes, 1997) Autism is a very understood disease but one thing most people do not know is that autism not only effects a child’s life mentally and physically, it also effects their social ability to have friends, play normally and even grow up

While working with Mikayla, I realized how she struggled with basic play skills. Children with autism often have difficulty with playing. Some areas they struggle with are: task completion, imagination, turn taking, building relationships, joint attention, engaging with others, imitation, appropriate language, tolerance to a variety of ways to play with toys and reciprocal interaction. During the first couple of weeks, I used indirect play therapy. I observed Mikayla by how she played with a toy to how she interacted with other peers during natural environment. Through using indirect play therapy, I noticed she struggled with using toys appropriately, went from object to object and did not engage with others around her.

“Current theories about inclusive play revolve around the idea that play is important for life and that all play workers should be committed to creating play environments that are inclusive and that offer multi-sensory experiences for all children. Play environments should ensure children and young people can become involved in imaginary play and can help develop motor activity. They should also allow interaction in a safe environment. Play is seen as the language that can bring children of all different abilities together. All children and young people have the same basic needs and go through the same development stages, even though they may not all go through them at the same pace: some go through some stages more quickly than most, while others may become static in their development for a while. None of this should prevent access to any setting. Through play with other children they develop social skills and learn about behaviour, communication and friendship. Play is the tool for practical learning

The stages of social play is a theory that is composed by Mildred Parten. In 1932, she conducted a study of children from ages of 2 to 4 years old. The goal of her experiment was to identify the interaction of children among peers and influences of play. There are 6 stages of social play behavior; unoccupied, onlooker, solitary independent, parallel activity, associative play, and cooperative organized play. All of these stages were represented in my observation of the toddlers play with one another. The first 3 behaviors of social play correlated to a child’s independence involved to social play among his or her peers. Those behaviors are unoccupied, onlooker, and solitary independence. First, the behavior of a child may not engage in

Socially, children with autism have a lot of difficulty with peers as they do not express as much empathy or social involvement as their classmates. Baron-Cohen (2002) refers to children with autism preferring less involved social interaction, saying that “(children)often engage in “parallel play” at the edge of a group rather than joining in cooperative play”

Early childhood educators are well aware of how important a role play is to a child's learning and development. Teachers intuitively know that play is an integral part of a young child's life. Being able to play, both with others and alone is a crucial aspect of a child's healthy development. Much research has been conducted on the subject of play and children's development. It has been documented that play enhances a child's physical, emotional, social, and creative

During the conventional imaginative play, children were “invited to play with conventional toys…” (Fink, Stagnitti, & Galvin, 2012, p. 337), where two children scored in the expected range, while one child showed significant delay. During the symbolic play session, children were “invited to play with unstructured materials…” (Fink, Stagnitti, & Galvin, 2012, p. 337), where the results were a reversal of the conventional imaginative play results. In the symbolic play session, one child scored above the expected range, while two children showed a form of

The purpose behind the article “Efficacy of Brief Quantitative Measures of Play for Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Rodman et al. (2010) was to use the measures from a study done by Yoder and Stone in 2006 and another study by Yoder in 2006, that had been shown to be associated with communication and language and determine if those measures could be used to validly predict an Autism Spectrum diagnosis. This study was the first of its type, by comparing the performance on these measures of children with ASD to those of typically developing children. In order to make the case of the studies importance the authors provided the readers with several facts. Such as, the need for screening measures that are quick and effective for detecting ASD with young children (Rodman et al., 2010). Other facts like, clinical judgment remaining the gold standard in diagnosing ASD being problematic in its subjectivity. Another was a statistical fact from a study done by Wiggins et al, in 2006 that identified that 24% of 115 eight year old children had not received their diagnosis of ASD until they were of school age, when

The authors discuss the results of a study completed in rural Australia based on the effects of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) on the social and emotional growth of three young children with autism ages four to six years old. This study used a single case design to investigate the effects of CCPT on young children with autism in relation to their social and emotional growth. Part one of the research explored the impact of CCPT on the social and emotional growth of participating children whilst part two examined parental perspective on changes in their child’s behavior following the CCPT intervention.

Individuals with autism demonstrate delays or deficits in social interaction and behaviours. Autism is apparent from early childhood, but can emerge in early adulthood. It is associated with a wide range of possible causes, but genetic factors are the main causes. Children with autism have impairments in cognition, language delays, and lack of or poor social interactions. Lack of communication may force these children to adopt repetitive behaviours such as self-inflicted injuries and violence. The teaching process requires interventions that address the repetitive behaviours, skill development, and play

Play is usually a natural activity in early childhood and has significant importance in early childhood special education. Play assists in enhancing the children social competence, creativity, language development, and their thinking skills. Play is usually the key vehicle for the developing of language, social skulls in young children (Rogers ET all. 2009). Moreover, it serves as a functional behavior which contributes to the life quality of the children. .