Neighborhood Play Group

A short video that portrays the effectiveness of play groups for kids with autism.

 

 

 

Activities at Each Stage of Play

Now that you are aware of the different stages of play and the targets for each stage, it is time to come up with a play plan for your child to have a play date with another peer or his/her sibling. Below is an example of a play plan for a child that is in the stage of parallel play. You will see that there are some targets from other stages of play. This is because a child can be at different level of play depending on the activities (familiarity of the activity).

Parallel Play (Brainstorming Activity Sheet)
Schedule	Target Skills	Materials
Saying hello, circle games, singing (5 mins)	-       Child looks at peer and say “hello” -        Child stays with peer during circle games -        Child imitates peer’s actions during imitation game	-       Visual prompt card to say “hello” -       Song choice board that the child is familiar with
Obstacle Course (10 mins)	-       Child and peer cooperate with adult instructions -       Child responds to peer’s requests (Can I have….)	-       Hula hoops, ball pit, chairs, small bean bag -       Visual schedule of the obstacle course -       Reinforcement for staying with peer and following adult’s instructions
Break/Snack (5 mins)	-       Child request from peer (Can I have___, I want ____) -       Table manners (sit nice, stay with friend, eat over plate)	-       Visuals to remind good table manners -       Tokens to reinforce good table manners
Painting (5 mins)	-       Child request from peer -       Child response to peer’s request -       Child stays with peers -       Child imitates peer	-       Paint -       Paint brushes -       Papers for painting -       Example of finished product -       Coloring pages (more structure v. free painting)
Story time/Goodbye (5 mins)	-       Child looks at peer and say “goodbye” -       Walks peer to door -       Follow circle time rule	-       Visual reminder to say goodbye -       Visual reminders of sit nice, quiet mouth, hands of lap

Here are some ideas on finding activities that promotes interactions:

·       Simple physical games

·       Structured games / activities involving turn-taking or sharing

·       Activities that promote shared attention

·       Role play with shared themes

·       Action songs / finger play

·       Bringing / taking items to children

·       Giving activities (hand out drinks, materials for arts & crafts)‏

·       Sharing simple humor with peers

Planning and having specific targets for play are important because it ensures that play is productive and successful.  However, remember to target the  goal where both children are having fun too! 

Written by 

Gan Huey Sien 

Senior Consultant, EAP Malaysia. 

Targets in Stages of Play

Last month, in one of our blog entries, we defined the three stages of play (Parallel, Associative and Interactive). In line with our October theme “Play Skills”, we will recap the three stages of play and share with you some of the targets in each stage of play.

Parallel Play

Definition: Involves limited social participation in which a child plays near other children with similar materials, but does not try to influence their behavior (start with parallel play even though child can do cooperative play with adults).

Target Skills:

·       Both children enjoy the sessions

·       Both children cooperate with adult instructions

·       Child can play appropriately alongside peer

·       Spontaneously imitates actions of other child or when instructed by adult

·       Responds non-verbally to peers’ requests (“Can I have the____?”, Child hands 

        the object to his peer)‏

Associative Play

Definition: Involves social interaction in which the children engage in separate activities, but they interact by exchanging toys and commenting on one another’s behavior.

Target Skills:

—  Reciprocates and initiates greetings

—  Take turns with toy or activity

—  Requests preferred items from peer and uses assertive language

—  Answers, reciprocates and initiates social questions presented by peer

—  Follow instructions and play initiations stated by peer

Cooperative Play

Definition: Involves social interaction that is more advanced type in which children orient toward a common goal.

Target Skills:

—  Learns new responses by observing peer (verbal and non-verbal)‏

—  Joins and initiates conversation

—  Responds to changes in conversational topic

—  Responds to peer's refusal and gestures

—  Play cooperatively in group games

We hope that the above information will help you identify your child’s stage of play. Remember, even though your child may be able to play cooperatively with adults, he/she may still need to start at parallel play when playing with a peer. We have also listed a few targets in each stage of play. However, these targets serve as a guideline and you may need to add or modify the targets based on the needs of your child.

Have FUN playing!

Written by

Gan Huey Sien

Senior Consultant, EAP Malaysia.

Socializing with the Siblings!

For some children with autism, playing (either with toys or another person) can be difficult and it is a skill to be learned. They do not find play reinforcing but instead may choose to engage themselves in more self-stimulatory behaviour rather than appropriate play. Play time can be less structured, requires more flexibility and expectations may not be clear.

As a parent, you may want to have all your children play together, but this can be challenging if your child does not have play skills yet or does not enjoy playing. It is important to identify which level is your child at before you get him to engage with his other siblings in play effectively. If your child does not have any play skills yet, it will be best for the child to start learning how to play with an adult first, learn some interactive games and toy play skills that he may enjoy and language skills is preferred.

Once the above skills are acquired, start engaging your kids together. But start off with a small group, have only another child involved, an adult to facilitate the play and keep it short and structured. Use toys that are of interest of both children.

There are 3 stages of play.  Please refer to our previous blog post to find out more about these Three Stages.

Remember to slowly start fading off once your child can play independently with his siblings. Once he is also comfortable with one sibling, increase number of siblings.

Have fun playing together with your children!

Written by,

Jessica Ganesha

Consultant, EAP Malaysia

Peer Play: Stages of Play

There are gold ships,

There are silver ships,

But there are no ships,

Like friendships.

Finding friends, making friends and keeping friends are skills that I didn’t learn at school like how I learned math and writing. Yet, they are probably some of the most important life skills. Most children learn how to make friends on their own. However, for our children who are on the autism spectrum, making friends can be a daunting task. Therefore, many of the skills that are required in making friends, such as turn taking, sharing and negotiating, must be explicitly taught to our children who lack social skills. In a nutshell, this is how we teach our children social interaction in our program.

1.    First, teach to enjoy adult’s company.

2.    Use 1:1 learning sessions to teach:

-        Social skills(turn-taking, sharing, waiting, etc…)

-        Cooperation (respond consistently to adult’s instructions)

-        Self-regulation (Coping with not getting his/her way)

-        Play skills (interactive games, toys and imaginative play)

3.    The child’s social interest should increase, then teach child to play with other    

       children… now let’s start PEER PLAY!

Remember that even though our children can play with adults, they may not know how to play with other children because playing with children is more difficult than playing with adults (we help, we persevere and we reinforce!) Therefore, regular peer plays allow our children to practice the skills that they have learned in the 1:1 sessions.

Before starting peer play, it is important to keep in mind that there are different stages of play. One of the most common mistakes is to force our children to interact and talk to each other on the first play date. This pressure often hinders socialization. Below are the three stages of play and the initial goals to target during peer play.

Parallel Play - Involves limited social participation in which a child plays near other children with similar materials, but does not try to influence their behavior (start with parallel play even though child can do cooperative play with adults).

Associative Play - Involves social interaction in which the children engage in separate activities, but they interact by exchanging toys and commenting on one another’s behavior.

Cooperative Play -  Involves social interaction that is more advanced type in which children orient toward a common goal.

Initial goal for peer play is for both children to HAVE FUN! We want children to stay together (peer play usually occurs in 1 enclosed room)‏. We also want to find opportunities to generalize mastered play and social skills from 1:1 sessions (and later language skills as well). We want both children to feel comfortable and not pressured: Language is NOT an initial goal… it is common for children to talk less around new peers. Once the initial goals are met, we can gradually increase the frequency of peer play and establish new goals.

Good friends are hard to find. When we organize peer play for our children, we help them find, make and keep friends!

Written by, 

Gan Huey SIen

Senior Consultant, EAP Malaysia