Social and cognitive values of different play materials for 21 normal and 21 handicapped preschool children were examined. Analyses showed that handicapped preschoolers exhibited comparable amounts of symbolic play but lower quality of symbolic play than that shown by nonhandicapped preschoolers. Symbolic play by handicapped children depended much…

This paper reviews research on symbolic play gaps between children with and without language impairment (LI), arguing that these gaps should not be interpreted as demonstrative of marked deficits in general representational or specific symbolic play competence of children with LI. Frequent encroachment of language into testing procedures is cited…

This paper examines the interrelationship between children's acquisition and use of symbols and the development of imaginative play. The paper focuses on the use of pretend play as an expression of the child's capacity for symbolic functioning and as an index of intellectual development. The first section of the paper reviews developmental changes…

Play behaviors of infants who had normal hearing or were deaf were observed during free play with their mothers, at ages 9, 12, and 18 months. Participants included 15 dyads of children who were deaf and mothers who were not, 15 dyads of children and mothers who were both deaf, and 15 dyads of children and mothers who both had normal hearing.…