A child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and a history of aberrant behaviors participated in this study with his mother. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of FCT on decreasing problem behaviors, increasing communication mands, and increasing spontaneous communication with a child with ASD…

When teaching multicultural education, whether training future teachers or working with students, what is usually excluded is a critical examination of the dominant power structure of whiteness. In this article, the author discusses "The Race Card," a free resource that can provide a tool to allow all players to critically examine how the dominant…

Through play children develop the basic skills needed to make choices in life and to tolerate ambiguity and the unexpected in a fast-changing world. To teach young children effective play skills, teachers must be skillful co-players and observers, not mere implementers of standardized curricula. Vignettes illustrate children's learning through…

Group play therapy is a common treatment modality for children who have been sexually abused. Sexually abused preschoolers exhibit different group play therapy behaviors than do nonabused children. Group workers need to be aware of these differences and know the appropriate group interventions. This article describes group play therapy with…

The article discusses child development in the context of child life in day care. It traces children's development of an independent, autonomous life and their creation of culture where play is a central feature. The culture produced by the children is analysed on the basis of classical notions of culture. Furthermore the emergence and development…

Early research on imaginary companions suggests that children who create them do so to compensate for poor social relationships. Consequently, the peer acceptance of children with imaginary companions was compared to that of their peers. Sociometrics were conducted on 88 preschool-aged children; 11 had invisible companions, 16 had personified…

Recently in the UK there have been dramatic changes in the state provision of early years education and care, most notably the introduction of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's "early learning goals" in 1999 and "curriculum guidance for the foundation stage" in 2000. Outlining the context in which these changes came…

Background: Physical educators and coaches face an ongoing problem of presenting fun and enjoyable practices that also provide efficient learning of technical and tactical sports skills. Effective instruction also promotes the transfer of learning from practice tasks to the real game. Play Practice (PP) describes a structure for teaching sports…

The reported study aimed to identify the effects of two 10-week intervention programs on fundamental locomotor skill performance in kindergarten children. Seventy-five children with mean age 5.4 plus or minus 0.5 years participated. Experimental Group A followed a movement program, experimental Group B followed a music and movement program, and…

The purpose of this article is to share with educators the broad developmental benefits, specific challenges, and helpful hints regarding outdoor play for preschoolers, particularly those with limited English proficiency (LEP). In this article, the authors found, that physical play provides some unique opportunities for learning, especially for…

Analyses of the peak and predominant toy play of 17 preschool children with mental retardation and 17 preschool children without mental retardation are presented. Groups were matched on developmental age and sex and observed during both a home-based independent play situation and classroom-based free play. Results are presented for 1) a comparison…

Five-year-old children in two socioeconomic school settings were observed in Guatemala City. Their parents and teachers were surveyed about perceptions of learning through play. The difference between the actual classroom experience for Guatemalan kindergartners and the perceptions about what should be their experience, according to their parents…

Erikson found sex differences in the play configurations of pre-adolescents who were given a variety of toys and blocks. Wamback, Cramer and Hogan's replications of Erikson's work revealed that sex differences of this type lack sensitivity to inter-school variation among subjects, time or locality. Two possible alternatives to Erikson's hypothesis…

The PLAY Project Home Consultation (PPHC) program trains parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders using the DIR/Floortime model of Stanley Greenspan MD. Sixty-eight children completed the 8-12 month program. Parents were encouraged to deliver 15 hours per week of 1:1 interaction. Pre/post ratings of videotapes by blind raters using the…

In 2007 Cedar Ridge Camp opened for its first season as a traditional co-ed summer camp and year-round outdoor education and recreation centre. The mission would centre on creating a program that would encourage personal development and growth through a shared outdoor experience. Cedar Ridge's main goals were to promote the formation of close…