Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 9-12% of individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Although psychostimulant medication is often the primary treatment modality, little is known regarding the effects of such agents on social interactions and play in this population. Additionally, the role of ADHD symptoms in social and…

Children's stories, like children's play, often contain aggressive elements. This research study identified the themes and ideas that children between the ages of 2 and 6 years old included in 290 dictated stories with aggressive elements. Among the stories that contained aggressive elements, 42% were dictated by girls, and 57% were dictated by…

When adults make a joint commitment to act together, they feel an obligation to their partner. In 2 studies, the authors investigated whether young children also understand joint commitments to act together. In the first study, when an adult orchestrated with the child a joint commitment to play a game together and then broke off from their joint…

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two communication interventions for preschool-aged children with autism. Method: Six typically developing peers were taught to implement peer-mediated naturalistic teaching, with and without a speech generating device (SGD), during play sessions with 3 classmates with autism in…

In an effort to push back against contextual factors that have constrained arts instruction and integration while recognizing that schools have limited resources, The Second City Training Center in Chicago has developed several educational programs that bring the art of improvisation to teachers and students. This article specifically focuses on…

Numerous dimensions of the peer social networks of children with Down syndrome were examined within a developmental framework. Results revealed that for many key measures, particularly involvement in play, linkages to other settings, and control of play, children with Down syndrome have less well-developed peer networks even in comparison to a…

This is an account of what a teacher educator learned from using the video game Neverwinter Nights with Drax, a high school student whose reading is like that of an elementary school student. Neverwinter Nights is a role-playing adventure game that requires reading print along with other meaningful signs such as sounds, artefacts, color, maps,…

The author does not really like "Hamlet." He loves the play, the language, and the characters, but always finds it difficult to teach. Part of this is because he prefers to assign students scenes to perform as they read a Shakespeare text, but Hamlet does not divide nicely into manageable scenes, and he usually does not have enough teenage Ken…

The activity shared here is an animal role-playing lesson developed, field-tested, and refined for "Nature's Neighborhood", a newly designed children's education facility at the Toledo Zoo. The activity is targeted at students in kindergarten through second grade, but it can be adapted for use in grades three and four as well. Through…

The association between attachment and symbolic play was examined in a sample of 45 preschool age boys with autism spectrum disorders. Attachment was assessed using the strange situation procedure, and the frequency, duration, diversity and complexity of child-initiated symbolic play was assessed from observations of mother-child interactions…

What makes games effective for learning? The authors argue that games provide vicarious experiences for players, which then amplify the effects of future, formal learning. However, not every game succeeds in doing so! Understanding why some games succeed and others fail at this task means investigating both a given game's design and the…

This paper considers how young children in early childhood education draw on popular texts and consumer goods in their constitution of subjectivities and social relations. The paper draws on poststructuralist theories of subjectivity, agency, consumption and power, to explore how performative practices of consumption figure in the constitution of…

The lived experience of professional supervision is complex and dynamic. Techne, the knowledge that informs the "know-how" of practice, offers guidance. Phronesis, the dynamic wisdom that trusts the "play" of relationship in the supervision encounter, recognises the spirit of the encounter. While it is hard to capture that…

In recent times there has been an enormous interest in Vygotsky's writing on conceptual development, particularly his insights on the differences between everyday and scientific thinking. In drawing upon cultural-historical theory, this paper seeks to examine the relations between everyday concepts and scientific concepts within playful contexts,…

Hands-on creative play is essential to children's health and well being, yet in the 21st century United States, nurturing such play has actually become countercultural. The dominant, marketing-driven, media-saturated culture dictates against it. In addition to depriving children of time spent in creative play, unlimited access to screens means…