Similarities in Functional Play and Differences in Symbolic Play of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Kathy Thiemann-Bourque, Lynette K Johnson, Nancy C Brady
PMID 30715926WHAT IT FOUND
Children with autism showed similar everyday toy use and interest in different toys as matched peers, but less pretend play, especially having a doll act on objects.
Key findings
01The study did not find a difference in functional play or object interest between children with autism and matched typically developing children.
02Children with autism showed fewer symbolic play acts than matched typically developing children, especially pretend acts where a doll or figurine is the agent.
03Eleven of 19 children with autism showed emerging symbolic play, compared with 18 of 19 typically developing children; three showed mastery, compared with nine.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The autism group was 19 of the original 35 children, and this subsample had higher object interest and more emerging or mastered play than the original group. The groups differed by 40 months in chronological age, so social maturity could affect some play. The examiner who tested the typically developing children also coded their play, and the reliability coder knew which children had autism. Only 26% of videos were checked for reliability. The study did not measure multi-scheme play, vocalizations in play, or play quality. The assessment used a female doll in two sets, and most participants were boys.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types list NIH extramural research support; the article text does not give an author conflict declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that children with autism have less interest in toys or weaker functional play. The study did not find a difference in object interest or functional play levels, and the symbolic play difference was limited to pretend acts with a doll as agent.