Effectiveness of adaptive pretend play on affective expression and imagination of children with cerebral palsy.
Adaptive pretend-play props quickly raise positive emotion and imagination in children with cerebral palsy.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hsieh (2012) compared two play sessions for kids with cerebral palsy.
One session used regular toys. The other used adaptive pretend-play items.
The team watched how much positive emotion and imagination each child showed.
What they found
Kids showed more smiles, laughs, and creative acts during adaptive pretend play.
The same kids were flatter and less inventive with ordinary toys.
How this fits with other research
Shawler et al. (2021) ran a similar test with 6- to 9-year-olds who have high-functioning autism.
They also saw big gains in imagination after only five short pretend-play rounds.
Together the two studies say: tweak the toys, boost the play skills across diagnoses.
Belmonte et al. (2019) looked at brain waves in children with cerebral palsy.
Those kids had weaker brain reactions to emotional pictures.
That finding helps explain why adding emotion-rich pretend props matters so much.
Why it matters
You can lift affect and imagination in one move.
Swap in adaptive props: big knobs, Velcro costumes, switch-activated tea sets.
No extra staff or long training needed.
Try it during free-play or recess and watch for smiles and new story lines.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have difficulty participating in role-pretending activities. The concept of adaptive play makes play accessible by modifying play materials for different needs or treatment goals for children with CP. This study examines the affective expressions and imagination in children with CP as a function of ordinary versus adaptive pretend play. METHOD: The Affect in Play Scale-Brief Rating measured the affective expression and imagination for 29 children with CP and 29 typically developing children (mean age=7.34 years). Two groups of children were observed while playing with a standard set of ordinary toys for ten times and with a standard procedure of adaptive pretend play for ten times. RESULT: The results show significantly different affective expressions and imagination between the two groups. Typically developing children displayed much more affective expression and imagination. However, a more positive influence of affective expression and imagination occurred in children with CP than in typically developing children. In repeated measures analysis, the frequency of positive affective expression and imagination of children with CP was higher when pretending with adaptive toys. CONCLUSION: Adaptive pretend play can promote more role-pretending behaviors and a sense of environmental control during the manipulating process for children with CP.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.05.013