This study describes a longitudinal design (following subjects described in Rutherford & Rogers [2003, "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder", 33, 289-302]) to test for predictors of pretend play competence in a group of children with autism. We tested the hypothesis that developmental change in pretend play performance can be predicted by…

Four doctoral students and their professor contemplate the value of play in their high school and college classrooms. They discuss their experiences teaching children's books, student illustrations, and excerpts from magazines and newspapers that convey the intricacies of the English language through homonyms, homophones, homographs, and polysemy.…

Children's exposure to mind-related talk has been shown to foster young children's metacognitive understanding and to orient them to the patterns of literate language long before they commence formal literacy instruction at school. In this paper, we report on a longitudinal study of the mind-related talk of 22 mothers when their infants were aged…

The relationship between symbolic play and other domains, such as degree of autistic symptomatology, nonverbal cognitive ability, receptive language, expressive language, and social development, was investigated. The assessment files of 101 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder were studied. Nonverbal cognitive ability and expressive language…

Through a joint research committee sponsored by the Association for Play Therapy (APT) and the American Counseling Association (ACA), The National Play Therapy in Counseling Practices Project conducted the first phase of investigation. Findings offered a snapshot of mental health providers of play therapy, regarding the nature of who they are and…

How do children from different cultural backgrounds who are learning to speak English respond to the Reggio Emilia approach? This article builds on the author's research into Reggio Emilia and children from diverse cultural backgrounds. She describes the strategies the teachers used to enable the children to express their ideas verbally and…

This book can be used as an environmental education tool for parents and teachers of preschool children. The book is designed to encourage a sense of discovery and teach a conservation ethic. Full color images and narrative convey a sense of childhood amazement and discovery of nature. Children are depicted observing and interacting with wildlife…

Using the framework of cultural context analysis, this paper examines how cultural myopia can lead to inaccurate generalizations regarding play and development among children in diverse sociocultural groups in the United States. The paper argues that analyses drawing causal connections between playing with particular toys or in certain ways and…

While it is our responsibility as adults to protect our children from hazards that would inflict injury, it is also our responsibility to provide children with a safe play environment providing challenging opportunities to explore, practice, and reach personal levels of competence. Children learn their own play abilities and limitations through…

This book presents a series of projects for children of all levels of expertise, beginning with abstract patterns, rows, and towers and progressing to step-by-step instructions for 18 projects, including a bridge, boat dock, airport, shopping mall, skyscraper, castle, Greek temple, Toy Store City, City of the Future, and The Emerald City of Oz.…

The goal of this study was to describe the potential educational opportunities that lie in self-directed age-mixed interactions among children and adolescents. A qualitative analysis was used to generate ideas about goals and benefits of such interactions. The setting for the study was Sudbury Valley School (Massachusetts), a private school with…

A study applied an ethnographic approach to present a contextualized interpretation of children's competence as revealed in their play activities outside of school. The purpose of the study was to de-construct claims that Taiwan's aboriginal children cannot make it at school because of their "lacking cultural stimulus." Five play…

Advocates of children's right to play are caught between the need to provide developmentally appropriate and challenging places for play and restrictions that result from fears of liability. It may be that implementation of the suggestions of research on playground safety has resulted in the creation of playgrounds that are colorful, cute, and…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on dance, play, and movement therapy for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Individual articles are: "Join My Dance: The Unique Movement Style of Each Infant and Toddler Can Invite Communication, Expression and Intervention" (Suzi Tortora); "Dynamic Play Therapy: An Integrated Expressive Arts Approach to…

A study investigated the nature of the social construction of play events by a group of twelve 4- and 5-year-old children and the ways in which these play constructions are maintained over an extended period of time. The 5-month study was conducted in a nursery school classroom during the children's self-selected playtime. Data collection included…