The first purpose of the study was to develop a methodology for observing young children at play in their classroom situations without access to sound. The second purpose was to use data collected under equivalent conditions and methodologies to compare the play behaviors of young deaf children to the play behaviors of their hearing counterparts.…

The volume is intended to help mentally retarded adults learn how to interact with infants and children in a caring and safe manner. The manual may be used by counselors or trainers in one-to-one or small group sessions. Each unit includes line drawings to illustrate proper techniques; the drawings have been designed for the trainees' use and are…

Active parent involvement in play therapy can add greatly to a child's development. As participants, parents can learn to empathize more readily with their children, thereby enabling them to grow and learn with them. (CJ)

Exploratory and play behavior were studied in young children using three dimensional random polygon objects. (ST)

Describes the structure of spontaneous episodes of dyadic play and suggests some of the basic abilities which underlie social play, based on observation of 36 15-20 minute videotaped play sessions involving groups of three children each, ages 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years. (ED)

The study examined the relationship between cognitive performance and the use of private speech in 20 learning disabled children, aged 81 to 108 months. Half of the children were hyperactive. Each child was given a series of cognitive tasks and played alone in a room for 7 minutes. Videotapes of the free play were later transcribed and coded…

Research on free play among children is reviewed, and the relation of such research to the adaptation and use of play environments for multiply handicapped/mentally retarded (MH/MR) children is considered. Noted among research findings are that the nature and organization of playground equipment has a significant effect on children; that children…

This study investigates the ability of 13-month-old infants to use objects of varying degrees of realism in symbolic play and the genera1ization of this ability across different scene content. The effects of order of presentation of the task and of the behavioral coding scheme on the assessment of those abilities were also examined. Thirty male…

Erik Erikson concluded that differences in the play constructions of young children are largely determined by psychosexual differences in the subjects and not by cultural influence. He suggested that additional observation of younger and older subjects could determine whether the differences were true for all ages or whether they were restricted…

CHILDREN WHO ARE INARTICULATE CAN NOT BENEFIT FROM TRADITIONAL THERAPY METHODS. SINCE THE PRIMARY TOOL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY IS VERBAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PATIENT AND DOCTOR, CREATIVE DRAMATICS COULD BE A USEFUL PREPARATION FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY. A NON-CLINICAL TEACHER WHO WAS SKILLFUL AND EXPERIENCED IN CREATIVE DRAMATICS WAS THE GROUP LEADER FOR SIX…

Six boys and six girls aged 4-6 years viewed one of three videotapes in which puppets (two Muppets: one male and one female) used culturally stereotyped arguments to assign masculinity, feminity or sex-role neutrality to a standard set of sex-neutral toys. After viewing a film, the children were observed for 10 minutes in free play with toys shown…

An experiment is reported in which an attempt was made to bias college students' observations of a videotape of children at play. The study is framed in terms of W.I. Thomas' ideas concerning the definition of the situation. Observer bias is an instance when a definition of a situation is based primarily on subjective situational factors. Reliance…

There have been many theories and hypotheses about play, one of which is the equation of play with "transcendence." Play may have the ingredients to allow us to transcend and, for a moment, remythologize life. There have been recent authors who have given play the status of theology, indicating that play contains elements also found in religion.…

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that from January 1, 1974 through December 31, 1974, approximately 118,000 persons received hospital emergency room treatment nationwide for injuries related to playground equipment. Of this estimate, approximately 45,000 injuries occurred on public playground equipment and approximately 41,000…