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不知这个是不是教育论坛ANDREW 提到的融合游戏疗法的来源。学习一下再说
Can I play? Classroom-based interventions for teaching play skills to children with autism.
Publication: Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
Publication Date: 22-JUN-02
Author: Terpstra, Judith E., ; Higgins, Kyle ; Pierce, Tom
COPYRIGHT 2002 Pro-Ed
There are many interventions and methods discussed in the research related to teaching social and play skills to children with autism and other developmental disorders. These include (a) teaching isolated play skills in the context of preteaching,(b) script training for play skills, (c) using peer models, and (d) using pivotal response training. This article describes methods to adapt this research for effective use in both specialized and inclusive classrooms.
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Children with autism have deficit areas that affect their lives both socially and educationally. One of these deficit areas is the ability to engage in typical play individually or with peers (Schleien, Mustonen, Rynders, & Fox, 1990). A child with autism who has deficits in play skills may also demonstrate related behavioral deficits (Thorp, Stahmer, & Schreibman, 1995) and social difficulties with peers and adults (Belchic & Harris, 1994).
Children engage in a variety of types of play. These include symbolic play, functional play, and sociodramatic play. Symbolic play is using one object as if it were another, attributing properties to the object that it does not possess, or referring to absent objects as if they are present (Jarrold, Boucher, & Smith, 1993; Lewis & Boucher, 1995; Libby, Powell, Messer, & Jordan, 1998; Stahmer, 1995; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993). The symbolic use of an object for play includes common play activities such as using a stick for a sword and having pretend or invisible friends. Functional play involves using objects in a way that is appropriate to their function (Libby et al., 1998; Stahmer, 1995; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993). A child may use miniature plastic kitchen utensils to cook a pretend dinner for a parent or friend. Sociodramatic play is social in nature and involves role-playing activities in which children interact with one another based on roles relating to a particular theme (Goldstein & Cisar, 1992; Thorp et al., 1995). Sociodramatic play includes activities such as playing house, playing school, or playing store. Children with autism often have a difficult time engaging in these activities due to the social interaction required, which includes language, social cues, and physical contact, and the abstract nature of pretending.
The act of playing occurs on different levels with children. Isolated play involves the child in activity with an object or an action that does not require another individual (Schleien et al., 1990; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993). This may be observed in children when they engage in activity with a favorite toy or object. However, many children with autism may use the toy or object in a manner that is repetitive or not a common use of the object (Wolfberg, 1999). A child with autism who has a deficit in play skills may repetitively spin the wheels of a toy car instead of moving the car on a track.
Common focus or dyadic play is an activity or action that requires cooperation with another individual (Schleien et al., 1990; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993). This level of play commonly involves two children playing a game or using the same toy. A child with autism may play near another child or with some of the same toys but not interact with the other child.
Group play is an activity involving cooperation between three or more individuals (Schleien et al., 1990). Activities that are examples of group play are board games, nonteam playground games, or children playing and interacting with the same toys. This level of play may be difficult for a child with autism due to the social cues and interaction necessary as well as the abstract nature involved in playing with some toys.
Team play is described as a competition between two or more groups intent on achieving a mutual goal (Schleien et al., 1990). Team play is often an organized sport or playground game that children engage in, such as baseball, basketball, kickball, or team tag. Children with autism may have difficulty with this level of play because of the intense social interaction, high level of activity, and specific rules involved in a game.
The research literature provides a strong information base concerning interventions for teaching play and social interaction skills to children with autism. Four of these interventions that focus on the use of classroom-based instruction to teach play skills are the focus of this article. These interventions include teaching isolated play skills (Coe, Matson, Fee, Manikam, & Linarello, 1990; Lewis & Boucher, 1995; Lifter, Sulzer-Azaroff, Anderson, & Cowdery, 1993), implementing script training (Goldstein & Cisar, 1992; Krantz & McClannahan, 1993), teaching appropriate play skills with the use of peer trainers and peer examples (Baker, Koegel, & Koegel, 1998; Belchic & Harris, 1994; Goldstein & Cisar, 1992; Meyer et al., 1987; Pierce & Schreibman, 1995; Schleien et al., 1990; Stahmer, 1995; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993), and teaching play skills using pivotal response training (Stahmer, 1995; Pierce & Schreibman, 1995; Thorp et al., 1995).
The following sections of this article address the considerations and format for teaching play skills to children with autism. Discussed are several of the important factors to consider when teaching play skills to children with autism, including developmental appropriateness, language, and motivation. Each of the four selected interventions are described in detail in a way that teachers, parents, and other professionals will be able to implement these techniques into classrooms or training programs.
Considerations for Classroom-Based Play Skills Intervention
All children have unique qualities, skills, and needs that parents and teachers should consider when making educational decisions. This is the same for children with autism. When determining which intervention to implement for teaching play skills, there are several important factors to consider. These include the developmental level of the child, the language level of the child, availability of typical peers, motivational techniques, the setting, and the type of play that will be taught.
Developmental Readiness
The developmental level of the child should be considered when selecting activities and interventions. It is important, especially in the early childhood years, to follow the guidelines of developmentally appropriate practice.
Lifter et al. (1993) discussed the importance of considering the developmental appropriateness of a play activity when teaching preschool children with autism. Children consistently demonstrate more acquisition and generalization of the developmentally appropriate activity when the developmental readiness of the child is considered. They are able to learn and generalize developmentally appropriate play activities more quickly than age-appropriate play activities (Lifter et al., 1993). Developmentally appropriate activities are identified activities based on developmentally sequenced objectives that the child is ready to learn (e.g., Lifter et al., 1993). These developmentally appropriate skills are those that are at the child's current level of functioning as opposed to choosing age-appropriate skills based on the level of functioning of a same-age peer without a disability. The developmental level and subsequent appropriate skills for a child with autism must be determined individually.
Language Development
Stahmer (1995) found that children with autism perform at levels similar to those of typical children of the same language ability when elicited or instructed to play symbolically. To teach play skills to children with autism it is important to consider language skills and developmental levels. Mundy, Sigman, Ungerer, and Sherman (1987) reported on several studies that found a relationship between receptive and expressive language and the child's functional and symbolic play skills. Play skills are an important part of language development in infants and young children and, therefore, an important aspect in the development of language for children with disabilities. Through play children learn many aspects of language, including nonverbal cues, turn taking, joint attention, regulation of behavior through requesting, and other social interactions (Mundy et al., 1987). When beginning a play skills intervention program, parents and teachers must consider the language development of the child to select appropriate activities and events to start intervention. When teaching a child to play a simple game such as throwing and catching a ball, the teacher must determine that the child understands turn taking or the teacher must incorporate learning turn taking skills along with learning the play skill. Similarly, if the intervention that has been chosen is script training, the child should have some expressive language ability, either verbal or through an augmentative system. This is not essential prior to beginning the intervention; it may also be incorporated into the intervention procedure. Teaching language skills as a part of the play skills intervention may be necessary at times. Teachers and parents should be aware of the child's ability levels and design the play skills intervention on a level at which the child will be successful for maximum benefit.
Peer Involvement
It is beneficial to spend time working with typically developing children concerning their peers with autism. The children can be taught to interact, initiate, reinforce, and prompt their peers with autism so that they engage in positive social interactions and appropriate play (Belchic & Harris, 1994; Goldstein & Cisar, 1992; Pierce & Schreibman, 1995; Schleien et al., 1990). The process of encouraging children without disabilities to engage socially with children with disabilities can be accomplished in a variety of ways. These include formal programs such as Circle of Friends, peer coaching, or peer tutoring programs.
An informal method to engage typical peers is a setting in which the teacher talks to a few students about autism as much as is appropriate. This involves discussions with the students about how best to initiate social situations with the child with autism and how best to accept social initiations from the child with autism. Training programs for peers without disabilities are effective if interactions cannot be encouraged in a naturally occurring setting.
Engaging children in group games with same-age peers to increase appropriate play and positive social interactions is also an effective tool (Baker et al., 1998; Schleien et al., 1990). This can be accomplished by facilitating games (e.g., tag, kickball, dodgeball) on the playground. The more natural the training situation (consider the setting and use of multiple groups of peers), the more generalization will be successful (Baker et al., 1998; Belchic & Harris, 1994).
Motivational Techniques
Motivational factors are also an important aspect to consider when teaching play skills to children with autism. Due to the deficits in play skills and social skills that many children with autism exhibit, interactions that occur between the child and parents, teachers, or others are often initiated by the adult. When the adult initiates the social interaction, however, the child with autism may display higher levels of social avoidance behavior than when the child initiates the social interaction independently (Koegel, Dyer, & Bell, 1987). Several research studies have implemented pivotal response training as a method for teaching play skills (Pierce & Schreibman, 1995; Stahmer, 1995; Thorp et al., 1995). This method has been described as increasing motivation in the child through choice making and preferences. Using the child's preferred topics or obsession themes is an effective method of increasing motivation to maintain positive social interactions and appropriate play behavior (Baker et al., 1998).
A study by Baker et al. (1998), in which a child's obsessions were incorporated into playground games, demonstrated the importance of considering the preferences of the child as a part of their motivation to engage in social or play behavior with others. The three children with autism described in this study had rare or inappropriate social interactions with peers in unstructured settings, such as the playground, prior to intervention. When playground games were developed and introduced that incorporated the child's favorite topics or themes, the children appeared highly motivated to participate in these play interactions (Baker et al., 1998). Teachers and parents can create these games through the following steps: (a) identifying: a favorite theme or obsession of the child (e.g., movie characters, baseball, cars), (b) identifying a playground game that the children typically play and in which the target child would be able to engage (e.g., tag, dodgeball, hide and seek), and (c) making the identified theme the focus of the game (e.g., child has to call out the name of a baseball team before tagging another child). This strategy motivates the child to participate in the game because of the theme and makes him or her the expert at the game because of his or her knowledge of the theme. The typical children want to play and they include the child with autism as a valued team member due to his or her expert knowledge.
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