Observational assessment of toy preferences among young children with disabilities in inclusive settings. Efficiency analysis and comparison with staff opinion

Partners in play: Exploring ‘playing with’ children living with severe physical and intellectual disabilities

Introduction

Play occupation is central to children’s occupational lives and play is established as a fundamental right. While children with disabilities are at increased risk of play deprivation, few studies have explored the play occupation of children living with severe physical and intellectual disabilities.

Method

Informed by an ethnographic approach, this qualitative study involved 17 participants including five families of children with severe disabilities and six classroom staff. Methods combined observations of children’s play with adult interviews and focus groups to explore factors that influence play in home and school contexts. Findings were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Three themes emerged: (a) play as an occupation, play as an activity; (b) an empowered and empowering play partner; (c) the ‘just-right’ play object and environment.

Conclusion

The influence of an empowering and empowered play partner combined with the suitability of the object and environment was central to successful play. A commitment to play for fun, for the wellbeing of these children, and by ‘playing with’ and not ‘doing-to’ the child was fundamental. Although the findings are specific to this study, play facilitators may use them to inform future play interactions through an enhanced understanding of empowerment and enablement for successful play occupation.

Advances in Our Understanding of Behavioral Intervention: 1980 to 2020 for Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

There are three branches of science of behavior analysis [i.e., experimental analysis of behavior, behavior analysis, and applied behavior analysis (ABA)]. ABA can be defined as a systematic approach to understanding behavior of social interest. For the past 40 plus years, researchers have evaluated ABA and ABA based procedures (e.g., behavioral intervention) as they relate to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have implemented behavioral intervention in clinical settings for individuals diagnosed with ASD. In this paper, we discuss some of the pivotal contributions in the field of ABA in research and clinical practice. Additionally, we provide recommendations for the science and clinical practice of behavioral intervention in the next 40 years.

Designing Receptive Language Programs: Pushing the Boundaries of Research and Practice

Initial difficulty with receptive language is a stumbling block for some children with autism. Numerous strategies have been attempted over the years, and general guidelines for teaching receptive language have been published. But what to do when all else fails? This article reviews 21 strategies that have been effective for some children with autism. Although many of the strategies require further research, behavioral practitioners should consider implementation after careful review. The purpose of this article is to help behavior analysts in practice to categorize different teaching procedures for systematic review, recognize the conceptually systematic rationale behind each strategy, identify different client profiles that may make 1 strategy more effective than another, and create modifications to receptive language programming that remain grounded in research.

Clinical decision making and preference assessment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities are able to reliably express their likes and dislikes through direct preference assessment. Preferred items tend to function as rewards and can therefore be used to facilitate the acquisition of new skills and promote task engagement. A number of preference assessment methods are available and selecting the appropriate method is crucial to provide reliable and meaningful results. The authors conducted a systematic review of the preference assessment literature, and developed an evidence-informed, decision-making model to guide practitioners in the selection of preference assessment methods for a given assessment scenario. The proposed decision-making model could be a useful tool to increase the usability and uptake of preference assessment methodology in applied settings.

The Impact of Preschoolers' Gender and Sensory Preferences on Physical Activity Levels during Play

Introduction:

This study examined the differences between boys and girls in relation to activity levels during play and sensory preferences for activity level, body position and movement. A review of the literature revealed no evidence to explain if boys and girls prefer different body positions while playing or if body position might be used to measure their activity levels.

Method:

This retrospective study used data from demographic forms, children's Sensory Profiles and observations of children's play in classroom settings. The sample consisted of 53 typically developing children between ages 3–5 years from a suburban preschool in Kansas in the United States.

Results:

Analysis of data from play observations revealed no significant differences between boys and girls in relation to body position mean (p = 0.33), body position standard deviation (p = 0.19) and total number of change position times (p = 0.28). Analysis of data from children's Sensory Profiles showed no significant differences (p = 0.97) between boys' and girls' seeking preferences reflected by activity level, body position and movement items in the Sensory Profile.

Conclusion:

Future research should investigate children's play in outdoor playgrounds and implement more rigorous methods in rating activity levels.

Effects of ordinary and adaptive toys on pre-school children with developmental disabilities

Toys help children in mastering developmental tasks. This study investigated toy effect on children with developmental disabilities as they engage in using ordinary and adaptive toys. A single-subject design was used to identify the effects on their toy play abilities. Differences in toy effects between playing ordinary and adaptive toys were examined. Three special education teachers chose ordinary toys and modified ordinary toys. Modified ordinary toys, i.e., adaptive toys, were designed according to the individual disabilities of participating children, treatment goals, and the toy types. Three children with developmental disabilities from pre-schools in Taiwan were enrolled. Appropriate participation of three pre-schoolers increased dramatically in playing adaptive toys during intervention phase. The toy effects demonstrate that when using adaptive toys, children with developmental disabilities may response better during toy play sessions.

Teacher report and direct assessment of preferences for identifying reinforcers for young children

Teachers were asked to identify and rank 10 preferred stimuli for 9 toddlers, and a hierarchy of preference for these items was determined via a direct preference assessment. The reinforcing efficacy of the most highly preferred items identified by each method was evaluated concurrently in a reinforcer assessment. The reinforcer assessment showed that all stimuli identified as highly preferred via the direct preference assessment and teacher rankings functioned as reinforcers. The highest ranked stimuli in the direct assessment were more reinforcing than the teachers' top-ranked stimuli for 5 of 9 participants, whereas the teachers' top-ranked stimulus was more reinforcing than the highest ranked stimulus of the direct assessment for only 1 child. A strong positive correlation between rankings generated through the two assessments was identified for only 1 of the 9 participants. Despite poor correspondence between rankings generated through the teacher interview and direct preference assessment, results of the reinforcer assessment suggest that both methods are effective in identifying reinforcers for toddlers.

Increasing pretend toy play of toddlers with disabilities in an inclusive setting

We evaluated a program for increasing pretend toy play of 2-year-old children with disabilities in an inclusive classroom. Classroom personnel implemented the program, which involved choices of classroom centers containing toys that tend to occasion pretend play in toddlers without disabilities, along with prompting and praise. Increases occurred in independent pretend-play rates among all 5 participating toddlers. Results are discussed regarding the importance of promoting toy play of very young children with disabilities that is similar to the type of play of their nondisabled peers, and the need to identify critical program components that are applicable in inclusive settings.

DESCRIPTORS

pretend play, young children with disabilities

Increasing toy play among toddlers with multiple disabilities in an inclusive classroom: a more-to-less, child-directed intervention continuum

We evaluated a more-to-less, child-directed continuum of interventions to increase toy play among toddlers with multiple disabilities in an inclusive classroom. In keeping with recommended practices in early intervention, all procedures were conducted within the toddlers' classroom. Following initial observations of three toddlers (under 3 years of age) that indicated toy play was less frequent than that of their typically developing peers, preference assessments were conducted of selected toys. The toddlers were then provided with repeated choices of preferred toys in a child-directed manner. Two of the toddlers subsequently received staff prompts and praise for toy play, representing a less child-directed (i.e., more staff-directed) intervention component, in addition to choices of preferred toys. Overall, toy play as well as nonprompted toy play increased for one toddler during the former condition and for two toddlers during the latter condition. For two of the toddlers, toy play increased to a level commensurate with that of their classmates who did not have disabilities. Small increases also occurred in the number of toys played with by each toddler. Results are discussed in terms of how intervention procedures can be applied along a more- to less-child-directed continuum based on individual child responsiveness to respective procedures. Areas for future research discussed include applying the continuum with other child behaviors, including more advanced toy play.