Premium
Impact of the Learn to Play program on play, social competence and language for children aged 5–8 years who attend a specialist school
Author(s) -
Stagnitti Karen,
O'Connor Chloe,
Sheppard Loretta
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1630.2012.01018.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social skills , social competence , developmental psychology , intervention (counseling) , competence (human resources) , language development , scale (ratio) , medicine , medical education , social change , social psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , psychiatry , economics , economic growth
The aim of this study was to investigate the change in the relationship between play, language and social skills of children aged 5–8 years pre and post participation in the ‘Learn to Play’ program. The Learn to Play program is a child led play based intervention aimed at developing self‐initiated pretend play skills in children. Methods All 19 participants attended a specialist school, with 10 of the 19 children having a diagnosis of autism. The play, language and social skills of the children were assessed at baseline and at follow up. Children were assessed using the Child‐Initiated Pretend Play Assessment, the Preschool Language Scale and the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Follow up data collection occurred after the children had been participating in the Learn to Play program for 1 hour twice a week for 6 months. Results After 6 months in the program, typical indicators of play accounted for an increase of 47.3% in shared variance with social interaction and an increase of 36% in shared variance for social connection. For language, object substitution ability accounted for 50% of the shared variance, which was an increase of 27% from baseline. Conclusion The ‘Learn to Play’ program was associated with increases in children's language and social skills over a 6‐month period within a special school setting, indicating the Learn to Play program is an effective intervention for children with developmental disabilities. This paper presents an example of how the Learn to Play program can be adapted into a classroom setting.