Play, Theory, Assessment and Intervention (Week 9) Flashcards
Classic theories of play
Sensorimotor Symbolic Parallel Play Cooperative play Reilly was the one who was instrumental in bringing play into OT
OT theories of play
Ayers-therapeutic modality
Reilly-play as assessment and treatment
OT framework which includes play
Exploration
Participation
Play as a disposition
A way of being; playfulness; Intrinsically motivated
Play as an observable behavior
- completely non functional
- sponaneous
- different in form and timing
- completely absorbed
Play as a context
- Happens in different places; where it happens matters
- Usually describes the conditions under which play is likely to occur…
- The availability of an array of familiar peers, toys, and other materials interesting to the child
- An agreement is made between the child and adult that the child is free to choose
- Adult behavior is minimally intrusive or directive- the child leads
- A comfortable atmosphere is created
- The timing of play considers the timing of other needs (i.e., eating, sleeping)— make sure you think about this as you schedule your appointments
Functional Play
Functional roles– pretending that I am something (Dr., Waitress, Housewife)
Relational roles
Mom, dad, kid, cousin
Character roles
Superman, spiderman
Role with no identity
Kids make up their own character
Social play with motor play
play fighting
3 characteristics of playfulness
Intrinsic motivation, internal locus of control, not bound by reality (Bundy)
Play is intrinsically motivated, meaning it is…
self-directed
Player guides the play…
not stimulus or adult
Non-serious renditions of activities, meaning…
suspension of reality
Player is active or passive?
Active
Intrinsic motivation
- Suggests that something about the chosen activity is appealing to the individual (important to be able to get kids out of their shell)
- Takes into consideration what drives the individual (competitive, sensory seeking, etc)
- Consider possible sources of motivation, including… (Mastery, Arousal, Social interactions, Competition, Pure sensation seeking)
- How do we know if an activity
is intrinsically motivating?
Internal control
- Feeling physically and emotionally safe
- Match between activity and skill (may be easy and accessible to them)
- Player helps makes decisions about what the activity will look like (some like to be in charge, some go with the flow)
- Not necessarily “run the show”
- Ability to share control (hard for kids; opportunity for social learning; teachable moment)
- Share ideas with others
- Negotiate to have needs met
Freedom from reality
- Pretend or fantasy play
- Reduction of consequences that might normally be associated with performing activity in ‘real life’
Observable categories of play: Behavior
- Play with language
- Play with motion/objects
- Exploratory play
- Competency behavior
- Achievement behavior
Observable categories of play: Social interaction
- Onlooker
- Solitary independent play
- Parallel play
- Associative play
- Cooperative play
Social behavior in play: Individual
unoccupied, onlooker, solitary (under 2 yrs)
Social behavior in play: group
- Parallel
- Associative: not necessarily sharing or interacting; both in the same space doing similar things (“do you want this?”)
- Cooperative: working together, shared interest; interacting only for the interest of play (usually appears around 4-5 yrs old)
Effects of disability on play
Sensory, cog., physical
Behavior that indicates play (has to be these 4 things to actually be play)
- incompletely functional
- spontaneous/voluntary/rewarding
- differs from other behaviors in form or timing (original and unique)
- totally absorbing
Assessments of play
- skills
- development (social-emotional, cognitive, language, physical/motor)
- experience of state of mind
Play as an assessment in OT
what the player does; why the player enjoys chosen play activities, How the player approaches play, The player’s capacity to play, The relative supportiveness of the environment.
Gathering play history
- What the player does (environmental supportiveness, how the player approaches play)
- How the parent engages with the child affects how the child plays (what is the parent saying to the kid, etc)
- Children (infancy through mid-adolescent)
- Semi-structured interview with parent or other caregiver (narrative approach)
- Set of basic questions about play
Knox preschool play scale (PPS-R)
- Player’s capacity to play (what the player does in play)
- Children ages 0 to 6 years
- Indoor and outdoor observation (30 minutes each)
- 4 play dimensions
(1)Space management (where do they go, are they aware of their body)
(2)Material management (manipulation, construction, purpose, attention)
(3)Pretense-symbolic (imitation and dramatization)
(4) Participation (type, cooperation, humor, language)
Knox (1997)
Test of Playfulness (ToP)
- How the player approaches play (capacity of play, what the player does)
- Children ages 3 months to 17 years
- Observation of play in more than one setting (preferably outside and inside) for 15-20 minutes each
- Primarily available for research purposes (to track, etc)
Play as Intervention
- Play can be used as a therapeutic modality when treatment goals are to improve specific component skills.
- Play-based intervention may also be used to develop play skills.
- Play-based intervention may also focus on facilitating playfulness.
Development of play skills
- Focus on participation in the occupation of play
- Focus on the improvement of immature play skills (Look at developmental stages: Work on specific play deficits (where the assessment comes in handy; can the kid even play?))
- Focus on improving a mismatch between a preference and a skill (Alter preference; Alter environment)
Intervention for playfullness
- Perception of control
(How do you give a child sense of control?
By the way you set up the activity/tx session
Have the kid choose, in whatever order!) - Source of motivation
(How do you know what is motivating to the child?) - Freedom to suspend reality
(How do you encourage this?)
Why play?
- Building skills
- unstructured play time builds Creativity, imagination
- consequences of children not developing play skills? Difficulty with certain skills (social, motor, cognitive, coping, no stress outlet; isolation)
