Play Initiatives: ASD Focus Megan Allen Heather Lodge Stacey Pipe Zoe Plowman Anne Sheret Anne – introducing identiplay Relatively new initiative

What is Play? Why is it important? To promote social interaction. A tool for learning. Its fun! Enhances cognitive development. Enhances language development. Making meaningful links between play and real life contexts. Promotes problem solving skills. Emotional development. Stacey- There is no correct answer Discuss your top three of why play is important? Put up on white board each tables answers conclude endless possibilities 

Video clip http://www.teachers.tv/video/2496 Zoe- show video clip 15secs in until 25secs This is a video of children in a mainstream setting playing how would this differ if it was in a SEN setting or a child specifically with ASD

Triad of impairments www.nas.org.uk Megan- think about the triad of impairment in order to play the children need all of these skills www.nas.org.uk

Why is play difficult for children with ASD? Language – problems in expressing and understanding the content of speech. Social interaction – unwillingness to allow others to share experience. Lack of understanding of thoughts, feelings and intentions. Facial expressions. Imagination – difficulty in understanding imaginary situations. Often leading to repetitive, obsessive actions that mean something only to the child. Moor, J. (2002) Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autistic Spectrum, London: Jessica Kingsley. Heather- like Meg’s already said in order to be able to play and socialise with others children need… the reasons it is difficult are…

Play in children with ASD is often described as: Repetitive Motoric Sensory Isolated Purposeless Lacking in imagination Heather- how are ASD children are described

Identiplay… Identiplay is a structured intervention that aims to teach children with autism to play. It includes: A shared focus Imitation Parallel play Play dialogue Narrative structure in the form of play scripts Flexibility Anne- because chn with ASD struggle with play identiplay is an initiative to develop social and interaction skills

Research Suggests… Children can learn ‘play acts’ if prompted, however it could be questioned whether this leads to spontaneous play. Identiplay aims to teach children play skills and transfer them into real life play situations e.g. playdough. Zoe- research nikki and liz only research relatively new initiative predominantly in Hampshire 2007 as reflected in our bib!

Video Clip Heather-introduce video clip

Setting Up Identiplay You will need: A table divided in two eg. with masking tape (with a clear area for the child’s toys and a clear area for the adult’s toys). Two chairs, usually facing one another, on either side of the table. A pack containing two identical sets of toys. A typed script detailing the layout of the toys and what the adult will say and do with the toys. Stacey- Anne and Megan setting up- need masking tape and swing/slide

Identiplay Activities Having seen an example of Identiplay, have a go yourself!!! 1 person is the teacher and 1 person is the child Make sure you swap roles! Megan introduce activities: Tamborine Teddy bear Playdough Making a sandwich

We Conclude… Thomas and Smith (2004) carried out a small scale study on the effectiveness of Identiplay in helping children with autism develop play skills. After two weeks they found: * children with autism spent more time playing appropriately with tabletop toys. * children learnt and used all or some of the taught identiplay sequences. * There was an increase in social interaction. Megan- what did you feel about it?

Bibliography Beavan, L. and Phillips, N. (2007) Teaching play to children with autism –practical interventions using identiplay. London, Paul Chapman publishings. Thomas, N and Smith, C. (2004) Developing play skills in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Education Psychology in Practice, vol 20, 3, pp.195 – 206. Moor, J. (2002) Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autistic Spectrum, London: Jessica Kingsley.