The symbolic and object play of children with autism: a review.
Play is a solid assessment and teaching target for autistic children, yet past studies often lumped diagnoses and skipped severity—treat play data with caution.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pratt (1985) read every paper on play in children with autism. The author wrote a story-style review. No new data were collected. The goal was to see if play could guide assessment or teaching.
What they found
Very little good work existed. Most studies mixed different diagnoses. Severity levels were ignored. Still, play looked like a useful window into social and thinking skills.
How this fits with other research
Williams (2003) updated the same question 18 years later and agreed: we still lack fine-grained data.
Dominguez et al. (2006) ran an experiment and showed large, real play differences. Their data backed the early hunch.
Lewis (2003) narrowed the lens. That review found no strong link between play gains and language gains. So play is worth targeting, but don’t expect it to spill over into talking.
Why it matters
Use play as an assessment tool, but check diagnosis and severity first. Pick toys the child already likes. Track play and language separately. If you coach parents or peers, teach them to expand the child’s act instead of taking over.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The unique characteristics of autistic children's symbolic and object play are presented and discussed in the context of a literature review covering research since 1964. Several theoretical issues are highlighted: the relationship of play in facilitating language and cognition, play as an intervention, and play as an assessment tool. Difficulties in research methodology due to pooling autistic and schizophrenic subject are raised, as well as possible difficulties inherent in ignoring severity levels within the autistic population. The appropriateness of play therapy is questioned, and evidence is presented to provide encouragement for further inquiry into the study of autistic play.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1985 · doi:10.1007/BF01531600