Why Play? A History and Background of Play

Background/Definition

Disabled girl track atheletePlay has been defined to include elements such as spontaneity, intrinsic (or internal) motivation, pleasure, free joyous qualities, and self-direction. Most educators and parents agree that play is one of the most important phenomena of childhood occupation (Chandler, 1997; Musselwhite, 1989).

 

Play is a vehicle that allows a child to access and explore his or her world. In and through play, a child is able to develop the skills which expand his or her physical, cognitive and emotional abilities. In essence, much truth can be found in the adage that play is the true work of a child. Access to play experiences for a child with special needs can be facilitated by: parents and other family members; friends; general and special education teachers; adapted physical educators; occupational, speech and physical therapists; and counselors can all play crucial roles in assuring that all children have opportunities to participate in developmentally appropriate play activities. Below is some information on the various types and stages of play.

 

 

Types of Play

 

Physical Play

This play is identified with an emphasis on physical or sensorimotor components. It is usually very social, boisterous and involves activity. Examples of physical play include tickling, tug of war, hide and seek, and swinging on swings. Children with disabilities may be at risk for not getting enough physical play opportunities because of concerns about medical issues and safety. Family members who are the most comfortable with a wide variety of physical contact with a child can be crucial players in introducing adapted forms of this play to peers (Rast, 1986).

 

Family members and professionals alike can be crucial in ensuring that children are able to experience success in physical play. Often having an adult or older peer as an active facilitator can play a crucial role in this (i.e., having an adult push a wheelchair to help a child "run the bases" in whiffle ball or kickball, using a hand over hand approach to such games as balloon or beach ball volleyball, etc.). Musselwhite also recommends the use of aquatics to assist a child in experiencing a greater degree of freedom and exploration of movement.

 

Manipulative or Constructive Play

This play emphasizes an attempt to manipulate objects and components of a child's environment. Toys can include rattles, puzzles, "legos" and shape sorters. A variety of adapted equipment and techniques can be used to increase a child's access to manipulative or constructive play. Equipment can range anywhere from simple velcro toy holders available in many vendor catalogs to assistive technology such as switch activated toys and equipment. It is also important to remember that, as in any type of play, providing a child with the sensory input that is normally gained through the experience is crucial. For example, in helping a child place a puzzle piece or object into a shape sorter, the parent or teacher should allow the child to feel the texture, weight and temperature of the object.

 

Symbolic Play

This type of play involves the manipulation of reality versus the manipulation of objects (although toys and other objects may be used). Most typically such play involves a "deliberate misrepresentation of reality, as in pretending to eat a non-existent cookie or using a block as if it were a truck" (Musselwhite, 1986, p5). Musselwhite also talks about the importance of an adult in facilitating such play among children.

 

The use of an adult to facilitate and observe can play an important role in developing a child's symbolic play skills. Often the actual objects which are sometimes perceived to produce physical barriers can be incorporated into symbolic play (i.e., wheelchair race cars or delivery trucks, protective headgear which becomes an astronaut helmet, a splint or brace that becomes a puppet, robot arm or secret agent communication device, etc). Clarkson (1986) also talks about the importance of using large, easily accessible dress up clothing and costumes with the added benefit of increasing a child's function in everyday skills such as dressing.

 

Games

This type of play most often involves activities which are regulated or governed by games or rules. These can include card games or board games as well as more active games such as hide and seek. This type of play is often important in that it can teach important skills such as turn-taking and cause and effect. At times, many classroom personnel and family members may find game play one of the easiest forms of play for including all children secondary to the structure which it allows.

 

Game playing is another area that lends itself well to adaptive equipment and technology. Simple switches as well as visual scanning can be used to activate computer games or indicate selection or choices in games among peers. Another consideration in fostering game play is that of preparing a child for turn taking activities early on. Very often, differently abled children are unintentionally serviced with language that involves more external giving and receiving. "Let's put it here...there it is...where does the sock go? right here". Beginning a "your-turn/my turn" dialogue early on during even the most everyday tasks may help to reinforce the skills needed for social game play. For example, "I've got the sock...you're turn, push your foot in..."

 

 

Stages of Play

 

Although no child will move through set stages of play in an exact or consistent fashion Parten (1933, in Chandler, 1997, p. 134) outlined 6 stages of play that may be helpful in defining a child's play. It should be noted that these stages are not linear, that is a child does not progress directly from one stage to another. On the contrary, children will often engage in different stages of social play as tailored to varied circumstances such as level of familiarity with play situations, individual temperament, and physical environment. Examples of stages of play are as follows :

 

  1. Unoccupied play : This stage of play involves random activity. Many educators would argue that the name is a misnomer as the child is usually far from "unoccupied" (Chandler, 1997). Children with special needs may require assistance to engage in activity. Sometimes their exploration must be physically facilitated. A child must be allowed to randomly explore people, places and objects for the sole purpose of exploration. In addition to adaptive positioning equipment, another way to achieve this in a child with mobility impairments is to allow the child to verbally direct the person who is providing physical assistance.

 

  1. Onlooker play: This stage involves watching other children, but not becoming directly involved in play or interaction with these other children. It is this web author's opinion that children with special needs may be at particular risk for getting "stuck" in this social play stage because of mobility or initiation problems that may isolate them from their peers. Again, parents and professionals can be crucial facilitators in such situations. This stage involves watching other children, but not becoming directly involved in play or interaction with these other children. Parents and professionals can be crucial facilitators of onlooker play by providing verbal cues like, "Wow, watch Peter use the shovel."

 

  1. Solitary play: This play involves voluntary playing with one's own toys near other children. Some children (particularly those with diagnoses such as autism) may prefer or seek this type of play. Since many children with special needs are accustomed to a one-on-one play format with therapists and family, pairing a child with a peer tutor can help in the transition to other forms of play.

 

  1. Parallel play: This stage involves independent play in close proximity to peers. In regards to a child with special needs, it is important to ensure that the parallel task is age appropriate to both the child and the setting in which she or he is playing. For example, if a group of children is playing with cars and legos, a switch activated train set would probably be more appropriate than activating a toddler's music box.

 

  1. Associative play: This play involves the engagement of a group of children in a mutual activity, although there is not a common goal. If resources allow, this is an excellent area for infusing or including adapted toys within the common play task. For example, young children who are finger painting may want to explore the use of adaptive brushes or switch activated spinning painters that are often reserved for use with children with special needs.

 

  1. Cooperative play: This stage of play involves a division of labor among children in order to reach a common goal. This is perhaps the most difficult area in which to achieve a truly inclusive model for play. Cooperation in play is an achievement in itself among young children, and often the challenge of cooperative play may cause children to become absorbed to the point that they are not aware of the need for including all peers in the task at hand. Parents and professionals can facilitate the innovation of ideas to include all class mates. ("Maybe Jeff can be the tow truck and use his wheelchair to bring the blocks to the building site. What if Maria colors the lowest part of the poster where she can reach it best?").

 

Personal Note: I will never forget the time a teacher and I returned from a hallway discussion into her classroom only to find that a group of students had recruited the efforts of the young man I was to visit to make play dough pancakes with the tires of his electric wheelchair! The carpet was never the same, but then again, neither was I.

 

 

So What Do These Types and Stages of Play Mean to Children with Special Needs?

 

As previously indicated, children with special needs often have difficulty engaging in types of play and social play stages which involve large amounts of spontaneous, social interaction. The reasons for this may be physical isolation and emotional uncertainty on behalf of the child, his peers and educational personnel among other things. Adapted Physical Education Specialists; Occupational, Speech and Physical Therapists; and Special and General Education instructors can assist in using technology, adapted techniques and educational strategies to remove some of these barriers which so often isolate children.

 

All children have play in their hearts--our job is simply to put play at their fingertips!