Play Skills

Overview

Play is widely acknowledged to be an integral part of human development, and a large percentage of typically developing children’s time is spent engaged in play. As children develop, play serves increasingly more complex and vital functions. For example, play has been linked to the development of communication skills, cognition, and social and emotional interactions. Children with ASDs often experience substantial delays in the development of appropriate play skills. These delays can further exacerbate the social and communication deficits experienced by children with autism. The development of appropriate play skills is therefore an important target for early intervention with this population.

Links

MCPER is currently conducting research aimed at developing and evaluating methods for increasing the play skills of children with ASDs. For an example of recent research regarding play skills conducted at MCPER, follow this link:

Increasing Play and Decreasing the Challenging Behavior of Children with Autism During Recess with Activity Schedules and Task Correspondence Training