Play: It's not as Simple as it Looks!

Sometimes, I have wanted to change this sign. It might say, children are playing, but it's been slow getting there. Does anyone agree.

I need to make a confession. When I began this series I thought I could share everything about play in four or five posts. Well, as I have thought about what I know from parenting a child and working with others that have social deficits, I can't do it. I also wanted to include information from professionals in a number of disciplines about play. I had no idea how much there was to share about play until I started writing. With that said, today is the last post on play....FOR NOW! A series on play will return in a few weeks because there is so much more to discuss.

Today, I want to share some ideas about moving your child to the next step in play. I am an ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) provider. Here are some ideas coming out of ABA thought.

1. Make sure you are communicating what you would like your child to do in a way she understands. If a child doesn't seem to comprehend what you are saying it might be time to try a visual support.

This is a visual for learning to play a game with a friend. It is found at. ://www.setbc.org/pictureset/resources/rules_for_board_games/rules_for_board_games.gif

2. If the issue isn't communication, it may be that the task is just too big for her. If it seems insurmountable, she may give up before she even tries. If you believe this might be the problem, break the task down into it's component parts. it may be too much to say, " I want you to go downstairs and get CandyLand and bring it to the kitchen and set up the game on the table and then we will play." That may feel "too big" of a task. Try saying, saying, " go downstairs and get CandyLand and bring it to the kitchen table. I will help you set up the board. Then we can play. ". It just takes too much energy to even try if she has to go get the game and set it up. Try breaking down tasks into smaller increments.

 

If you are confident that communication or complexity of the task is not the proble. Look at:

3. Motivation. Children with learning differences often are not motivated intrinsically like their siblings and peers. They need external motivation. A behavior or reinforcement plan may be just what you need. Without motivation, not much will be accomplished. Sometimes, motivation is the missing link.

It could be a marble jar where a reward is earned when it is full. This approach could work well if your child can handle delayed gratification. If she can't, a smaller reward may be better because it can be earned quickly.

This visual can be found at http://elearning.autism.net. It is a more immediate goal with the reward shown being popcorn. A first then chart could also be used found at http://connectability.ca/visuals-engine/template-with-2-boxes-per-page/#content.

This alternates a non-preferred task with a highly preferred task creating an immediate reward.

It may take a little trial and error to figure out how to handle areas that are holding back your child in play skills. With persistence, progress can be made.

 

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