The importance of play in child development and the barriers that individuals with autism face regarding play skills requires us to identify specific interventions which can assist in the development of such skills. Stimulus pairing, which has been documented as a procedure by which an event comes to elicit a response by being paired with an event…

Following the work of Vygotsky, this paper explores three dimensions of change in play therapy: linear, additive, and emergent pivotal structures. In therapeutic play, the child expresses actions and initiates movements, sounds, and gestures. Then, seemingly "out of the blue," the child shifts such gestures to an episode containing…

The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the relationship of play to language and cognition, (2) to describe the stages of play and discuss recent literature about the characteristics of play, and (3) to describe the use of play with the multifaceted goals of cognition, pragmatics, semantics, syntax, and morphology as an intervention…

The use of play therapy with mentally retarded children and adults is examined. The lack of research on the topic is noted, and information on psychoanalytically oriented play therapy approaches are reviewed. Application of play therapy to mentally retarded clients is explored in terms of two questions: (1) at what level do mentally retarded…

The paper looks at the development of a play group for autistic children with descriptions of the autistic population, the daily program, the program's philosophy, the play group model, and actual lessons. Children, who ranged in age from 5 to 9 years, often chose activities which were self-stimulating and/or repetitive. The daily program included…

Four developmental outcomes of children's play were identified as acquaintance with the environment and the development of cognitive activity, verification of incidental learning, the development through sensory and motoric activities of relationships with objects and persons, and experience with roles and rules. A child developing atypically may…

Client-centered, psychoanalytic, and release and structure play therapy approaches have diverse philosophical viewpoints about the therapist's role, goals of therapy, and use of structuring in play therapy. While each approach aims to help children cope with emotional difficulties, the methods employed and the play therapy process differ…

The Family Expedition is a federally funded program designed to foster healthy changes in families with troubled adolescents through multifamily adventure therapy experiences. Each Family Expedition cycle is 4 months long, consisting of six multifamily sessions and three home visits. Each 90-minute home visit gives families time to focus on…

This paper summarizes how Chomsky's methodological principles of linguistics may be applied to the clinical interpretation of children's play. Based on Chomsky's derivation of a "universal grammar" (the set of essential, formal, and substantive traits of any human language), a number of hypothesized formal universals of…

Play therapy has been employed by therapists to alleviate children's emotional stress. Most research dealing with this type of intervention has been in the form of case studies, focusing on therapy outcome rather than on the therapeutic process. The process of one child in individual play therapy was analyzed through the use of time-series…

Various procedures for training parents to be play therapists for their own young children are described. In their play encounters with the child parents learn ways of being with the child that show empathy and caring as well as the way their playroom actions toward the child reflect their own conflicts as persons and spouses. This describes a…

When school counselors, teachers, and parents use play techniques with an accepting, safe relationship, they foster development of children's interpersonal needs which are fused with positive experiences at school and at home. This paper uses Kaufman's (1989) model of interpersonal needs as a theoretical framework to support the use of play…

This paper explores the research literature surrounding beliefs about children's play and the rationale for using play-based programming as part of early childhood special education practices. Discussions of recommended practices for educating or serving the needs of children typically refer to developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). DAP is…

Child Life Programs in hospital settings aim to involve children in activities and relationships appropriate to their needs. Child Life programming is an essential component of health care, as it promotes: (1) advocacy for children, families, and individuals; (2) the sharing of resources and knowledge; (3) cohesion in the health care team; and (4)…

A therapeutic play program in New Zealand aims to provide an environment that helps children cope with the stress of being in a hospital. A relatively new aspect of child health care in New Zealand, the therapeutic play program is a preventive mental health program that differs from play therapy, which is intervention for children who have an…