Children with autism often exhibit unique play behaviors, leading many parents and caregivers to wonder why autistic children play differently. This comprehensive guide delves into the fascinating world of autistic play, exploring the factors that contribute to these differences and offering insights into how to best support play for autistic children. We'll examine how sensory sensitivities, social communication challenges, and repetitive behaviors can influence how autistic children play, while also celebrating the strengths and creativity they bring to their play experiences.
Sensory Sensitivities and Play
One of the key reasons autistic children play differently lies in their sensory processing. Many individuals on the autism spectrum experience hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to sensory input, which can profoundly impact their play preferences and behaviors.
Hypersensitivity in Autistic Play
- Auditory Hypersensitivity: A child with auditory hypersensitivity might find loud noises, such as those found in busy play areas or from electronic toys, overwhelming and distressing. They may prefer quieter activities like puzzles or drawing, or seek out quieter spaces to play.
- Tactile Hypersensitivity: Children with tactile hypersensitivity may be bothered by certain textures, like scratchy clothing or sticky substances. This can influence their choice of toys and activities, leading them to avoid messy play or prefer smoother textures.
- Visual Hypersensitivity: Bright lights, flickering screens, or busy visual environments can be overwhelming for children with visual hypersensitivity. They might prefer dimly lit play areas or enjoy playing with toys that have simple, clear designs.
Hyposensitivity in Autistic Play
- Sensory Seeking Behaviors: Children with hyposensitivity might actively seek out sensory input to meet their needs. They may enjoy rough-and-tumble play, spinning, crashing into things, or engaging in activities that provide strong tactile or proprioceptive input.
- Examples of Sensory-Seeking Play: This can include activities like jumping on a trampoline, swinging vigorously, playing with vibrating toys, or seeking out deep pressure through hugs or weighted blankets.
Creating a Sensory-Friendly Play Environment
Creating a sensory-friendly play environment can be immensely beneficial for autistic children. This might involve:
- Reducing visual clutter: Organizing toys and play areas to minimize overwhelming stimuli.
- Offering a variety of textures: Providing access to different textures like soft blankets, squishy toys, and textured balls.
- Controlling noise levels: Creating quiet zones or providing noise-canceling headphones.
- Adjusting lighting: Using dim lighting or natural light instead of harsh fluorescent lights.
By being mindful of sensory sensitivities, parents and caregivers can help autistic children engage in play more comfortably and enjoyably.
The Role of Social Communication in Play
Social communication challenges are a hallmark of autism, and they can significantly influence how autistic children play with others. Difficulties with nonverbal cues, joint attention, and reciprocal social interaction can make it challenging for them to engage in cooperative play or understand the nuances of social games.
Understanding Nonverbal Cues in Play
- Challenges with Facial Expressions: Autistic children may struggle to interpret facial expressions, such as smiles, frowns, or surprised looks, which can make it difficult to understand the emotions and intentions of their playmates.
- Difficulties with Body Language: They may also have difficulty understanding body language cues, such as gestures, posture, and eye contact, which can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations during social interactions.
Joint Attention and Shared Focus
- The Importance of Shared Attention: Joint attention, the ability to share focus on an object or activity with another person, is crucial for collaborative play and social learning.
- Challenges with Joint Attention: Autistic children may have difficulty with joint attention, making it challenging to engage in games that require shared attention, such as building a tower together or playing a board game.
Reciprocal Interaction and Turn-Taking
- The Foundation of Social Play: Reciprocal interaction, involving turn-taking, sharing, and responding appropriately to others' actions, is essential for successful social play.
- Difficulties with Reciprocity: Autistic children might struggle with these skills, leading to difficulties with games that require cooperation and negotiation.
Supporting Social Communication During Play
Supporting social communication during play can involve:
- Visual Supports: Using visual cues, such as picture cards or social stories, to help children understand social expectations and routines.
- Modeling: Demonstrating appropriate social interactions and providing clear verbal explanations.
- Structured Activities: Engaging in structured play activities with clear rules and roles, such as playing with puppets or taking turns rolling a ball.
By providing support and guidance, caregivers can help autistic children develop their social communication skills and participate more fully in play with others.
Repetitive Behaviors and Restricted Interests in Play
Repetitive behaviors and restricted interests are common in autism, and they can significantly influence how autistic children play. These behaviors might manifest in various ways, such as:
Repetitive Actions with Toys
- Examples of Repetitive Play: Lining up toys, spinning objects, or repeatedly opening and closing doors. For example, a child might spend hours meticulously arranging their toy cars in a line or become fixated on the spinning wheels of a toy truck.
- The Function of Repetitive Behaviors: These repetitive actions can be calming and self-stimulating for autistic children, providing a sense of predictability and control.
Intense Focus on Specific Topics
- Restricted Interests: Preoccupation with trains, dinosaurs, or specific characters is common in autism.
- Impact on Play: This intense interest can lead to repetitive play scenarios centered around the preferred topic, such as repeatedly reenacting scenes from a favorite movie or endlessly drawing pictures of trains.
Preference for Solitary Play
- Reasons for Solitary Play: Many autistic children enjoy playing alone and may have difficulty engaging in group activities or sharing toys. This preference for solitary play can stem from a desire for control and predictability, as well as challenges with social interaction.
- Benefits of Solitary Play: While encouraging social interaction is important, it's also crucial to respect a child's preference for solitary play, as it can provide opportunities for creativity, self-reflection, and relaxation.
Encouraging Flexibility and Exploration
While it's important to respect these preferences, it's also crucial to encourage flexibility and exploration. Caregivers can support this by:
- Incorporating Interests: Using the child's interests as a springboard for learning and engagement. For instance, if a child loves dinosaurs, introduce them to dinosaur books, puzzles, and imaginative play scenarios involving dinosaurs.
- Gradually Introducing New Activities: Slowly introducing new toys and activities alongside familiar ones, allowing the child to explore at their own pace.
- Providing Choices: Offering a variety of play options and allowing the child to choose what they want to play with.
By understanding and accommodating repetitive behaviors and restricted interests, caregivers can help autistic children expand their play experiences and develop new skills.
Types of Play Autistic Children Engage In
While autistic play can look different, it's important to remember that autistic children engage in a wide range of play activities, just like neurotypical children. However, they may express these play types in their own unique ways.
Exploratory Play in Autism
- Curiosity and Exploration: Autistic children often display a deep curiosity about the world around them. They might explore objects in unique ways, focusing on specific sensory aspects or engaging in repetitive manipulations to understand how things work.
- Examples of Exploratory Play: This might involve taking toys apart to see how they function, examining the texture of different materials, or repeatedly dropping objects to observe how they fall.
Constructive Play in Autism
- Building and Creating: Many autistic children enjoy building and creating, often with a strong focus on detail and precision. They might spend hours building elaborate structures with blocks or meticulously crafting intricate designs with LEGOs.
- Challenges with Flexibility: However, they may also exhibit challenges with flexible thinking and adapting to changes in the building process.
Functional Play in Autism
- Using Toys as Intended: Autistic children often use toys and objects in ways that reflect their intended function. They might enjoy playing with toy cars, pushing them along the floor and making car noises, or pretending to cook in a play kitchen.
- Understanding How Things Work: This type of play can demonstrate a strong understanding of how things work and a desire for predictability.
Symbolic Play in Autism
- Pretend Play and Imagination: While pretend play can be challenging for some autistic children, many engage in symbolic play in their own way. They might use objects to represent other things, such as using a block as a phone or a stick as a sword. They may also engage in imaginative scenarios, though these might be less elaborate or more structured than the pretend play of neurotypical children.
Sensory Play in Autism
- Exploring Sensory Input: Sensory play is often a favorite for autistic children, as it provides opportunities to explore different textures, smells, and sounds. They might enjoy playing with water, sand, playdough, or other sensory materials.
- Calming and Regulating: This type of play can be calming and regulating, helping children to manage their sensory input and reduce anxiety.
The Importance of Pretend Play
Pretend play, also known as symbolic play or imaginative play, is a crucial aspect of child development. It allows children to explore their creativity, develop social skills, and learn about the world around them. While autistic children may engage in pretend play differently, it's still an important part of their development.
Benefits of Pretend Play for Autistic Children
Research has shown that pretend play can help children with autism:
- Improve Social Communication: By taking on different roles and interacting with others in pretend scenarios, children can practice social skills like turn-taking, cooperation, and understanding perspectives.
- Increase Flexibility and Creativity: Pretend play encourages flexibility and creativity, allowing children to think outside the box and explore different possibilities.
- Reduce Repetitive Behaviors: Engaging in imaginative play can help redirect repetitive behaviors and provide an outlet for creative expression.
Challenges with Pretend Play in Autism
However, autistic children may face some challenges with pretend play:
- Less Elaborate Scenarios: Their pretend play might involve simpler scenarios or focus on repetitive actions rather than complex narratives.
- Difficulty with Role-Playing: They may struggle to take on different roles or understand the perspectives of others during pretend play.
- Preference for Structured Play: They might prefer structured or rule-based pretend play, such as playing "house" with specific rules and routines.
Encouraging Imaginative Play in Autistic Children
Caregivers can encourage imaginative play in autistic children by:
- Using Props: Providing props like dolls, stuffed animals, and costumes can help spark imagination and facilitate role-playing.
- Visual Supports: Using visual aids, such as picture cards or storyboards, can help children understand different pretend play scenarios and sequences.
- Modeling: Demonstrating different roles and actions during pretend play can provide a model for children to follow.
- Incorporating Interests: Using the child's special interests as a basis for pretend play can increase their engagement and motivation.
By providing support and encouragement, caregivers can help autistic children unlock the benefits of pretend play and foster their creativity and imagination.
Strengths and Differences of Neurodiversity in Play
It's important to shift our perspective from focusing on deficits to appreciating the strengths and unique perspectives that autistic children bring to play. Autistic play, while sometimes different, is not deficient. Instead, it reflects the diverse ways in which autistic children experience and interact with the world.
Strengths of Autistic Children in Play
Autistic children often possess remarkable strengths that can enhance their play experiences:
- Strong Visual-Spatial Skills: Many autistic children excel at visual-spatial tasks, such as building complex structures with blocks, solving puzzles, or drawing detailed pictures. These skills can lead to creative and innovative play ideas.
- Attention to Detail: Autistic children often have a keen eye for detail and may notice subtle patterns or differences that others miss. This can lead to a deep understanding of specific topics and a fascination with collecting and organizing objects.
- Unique Problem-Solving Approaches: Autistic children may approach problems in unconventional ways, leading to creative solutions and innovative play strategies. They may think outside the box and find new ways to use toys or engage in activities.
Embracing Neurodiversity in Play
Embracing neurodiversity in play means recognizing and valuing these strengths. It means creating an inclusive play environment where all children feel accepted and supported, regardless of their differences. By celebrating the unique ways in which autistic children play, we can foster their creativity, confidence, and sense of belonging.
Get Specialized Treatment with ChildWise ABA
At ChildWise ABA, we offer specialized ABA therapy programs tailored to meet the unique needs of each child. Our team of skilled and licensed professionals is dedicated to helping children with autism develop essential skills and reach their full potential. We incorporate play-based approaches into our ABA therapy programs, making learning fun and engaging for children. By combining the principles of ABA with play-based approaches, we help autistic children develop essential skills, improve social communication, and enhance their overall quality of life. Our individualized programs are designed to address each child's unique needs and support their growth and development in a fun and engaging way. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how ChildWise ABA can help!