Childs Play

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Childs Play

• Junior Sophister
• Michealmas Term
• Lecturer Sandra Patton

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a childs job - is to play"   "most of a childs
developmental needs are met through his/her
desire to play".
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What is play?

• Chance 1979 play is like love, everybody knows
  what it is but nobody can define it.
• Theories derive from fields such as philosophy,
  psychology, medicine, sociology, anthropology and
  education.
• Is it possible to define such a wide and complex
  behaviour.
• An all encompassing definition of play may not be
  useful or possible due to the amount of factors
  which are essential elements of this complex
  behaviour.

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Descriptive characteristics which distinguish
play from non-play

• Play is pleasurable, enjoyable and positively
  valued by the player.
• Play is spontaneous and voluntary. It is not
  obligatory but freely chosen by the player.
• The motivation for play appears to be intrinsic,
  it has no extrinsic goals and is in end in
  itself.
• Play involves some active engagement on the part
  of the player

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Types of play

• Chance 1979 identified four types of play
• physical tickling, mess fighting, hide and seek
  chasing.
• manipulative puzzles and cause and effect toys.
• symbolic pretend, fantasy, speech play
• games rules/conventions, card and board games
• Wehman (1979)
• free play
• structured recreation

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WHAT THEORIES CAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS USE TO
DEFINE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF PLAY?

• Takata noted that play is not a specific behavior
  but an attitude or process.
• Lots of authors discuss play but in a secondary
  nature, e.g
• Piaget concerned with the intellectual reasons
  why children play. Three distinct stages of play,
  each stage needs to be completed before the next
  can be achieved. 1. practice play, 2. symbolic
  play, 3. group games.
• Erikson as part of ego development identity

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Huizinga (1949) the importance of play as a
socialising factor. social/cultural the nature
and function of the child, the form which play
takes in relation to the social/cultural
background into which the child is born.
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DIMENSIONS OF PLAYFULNESS

• Lieberman defined 5 dimensions of playfulness
• Physical spontaneity
• Cognitive spontaneity
• Social spontaneity
• Manifest joy
• Sense of humour

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DIMENSIONS OF PLAYFULNESS CONTD

• Barnett
• A childs activity can never be isolated from the
  environment in which child is playing, nor from
  familial, social and cultural influences.
• E.g. what people are there, physical setting,
  availability of toys

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Other important theorists

• Csikszentmihalyi - Model of process that he calls
  flow
• A person who is in flow is completely absorbed in
  a satisfying activity
• Cohen - Ecology of play in the home play be
  interpreted within the context of the everyday
  environment
• Reilly, M deep understanding of play as the
  cornerstone of Occupational behavior

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Developmental stages

• Reilly (1974)
• exploration early childhood
• Competency a drive to master and deal with the
  environment
• achievement linked to expectancies, winning and
  loosing.

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Mary Reilly

• 1974 Play as exploratory learning
• Play is significant because it is part of our
  struggle for mastery within our environments.
• Play and work are viewed as the contexts in which
  mastery happens
• Childhood play is the precursor to adult work

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• A systems approach play as a bio-social
  phenomenon
• Play has an organising affect on behaviour
• Through play children learn rules sensorimotor,
  object rules, people rules, rules of thinking.
• e.g. you cant stack balls

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Reillys scholars

• Research into play as an occupational behaviour
  (60s and 70s)
• Linda Florey intrinsic motivation and learning
  through play moving outside the clinic. Affects
  of disability on childrens play.
• Takata play epochs, Taxonomy described
  changes in observable structure of play
  behaviours. The Play History semi- structured
  interview (play diagnosis and prescription)

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TAKATAS PLAY EPOCHS

• Sensorimotor 0-2
• Symbolic and simple constructive 2-4
• Dramatic, complex constructive 4-7
• Game 7-12
• Recreational 12-16
• Play history by Takata
• Refer to handout

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• Susan Knox The play scale Preschool play
  scale (3-6 years) observational assessment to
  give developmental level of play.

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Anita Bundy

• Occupational Therapists make a living by
  creating play and enabling others to play
• Definition of play is required is it is to form
  an important part of therapy.
• take play seriously
• MODEL OF PLAYFULLNESS
• TEST OF PLAYFULLNESS
• Refer to handout

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Anita Bundy - Playfulness

• Play is a transaction between the child and the
  environment which is intrinsically motivated,
  internally controlled, and not bound by object
  realityAcknowledging that it is not always
  possible for children to be in complete control
  of their environments or to fully determine their
  own reality, play is considered to be a continuum
  of behaviours which are more or less playful
  depending on the degree to which the criteria are
  present.

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Intrinsic motivation

• Levy 1978 the drive to become involved in an
  activity originating from within the person or
  the activity the reward is generated from the
  transition itself
• More concerned with the process not the product
• Absorbed in the activity

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Suspension of reality

• Levy 1978 the loss of the real self and the
  temporary acceptance of an illusionary self or
  imaginative self
• Bundy the elimination of consequences that
  might normally be associated with the activity if
  performed in real life

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Internal locus of control

• Degree of internal locus of control relates to
  concepts such as initiative, interaction,
  motivation and determination.
• Exploratory stage before developing internal
  locus of control.
• Ability to decide with what and whom he/she plays
  and what he/she is going to do.

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The continuum

• The three concepts are part of a continuum and
  are not mutually exclusive.
• Every play transaction has a combination of the
  concepts present to a greater or lesser degree.
• The degree of their presence determines the level
  of playfulness. Refer to handout.

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3 play measures

• Play history (Takata)
• Test of playfulness ( Bundy) 15 months 10 years
• Preschool play scale ( Knox) 3-6 years

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Play for plays sake

• Shift in thinking through research by
  Occupational Scientists and Bundy.
• Play is more than just a launch pad for adult
  skills and learning.
• Play is an end in itself because it is a
  legitimate part of the human experience.
• purest expressions of who we are
• A vehicle of meaning quality of life issue

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A FINAL THOUGHT

• Play is a childs way of learning and an outlet
  for his innate need of activity. It is business
  or his career. In it he engages himself with the
  same attitude and energy that we engage ourselves
  in our regular work. For each child it is a
  serious undertaking not to be confused with
  diversion or idle use of time. Play is not folly.
  It is purposeful activity
• (Alessandrini, 1949. p.9.)

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OT PLAY

• For children with disabilities, often there are
  barriers to play.
• Can you think of any barriers to play for the
  following children?
• A child with Cerebral palsy who is a wheelchair
  user
• A child with autism
• A child with mild intellectual disability
• A child with developmental coordination disorder

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Skills unique to OT in relation to play

• Activity analysis
• Understanding of child/task/environmental fit
• Advisory role to parents
• Advisory role to play groups/school
• Direct use of play in intervention

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TASK

• Observe your childs play. If you wish you could
  base your observation on one of the assessment
  formats we have looked at.
• How many of the descriptive characteristics can
  you observe that are outlined in slide 4?
• Build a play profile of the play that your child
  engages in.

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Reading references

• Play and Playfulness in Preschool Children by
  Susan Knox in Occupational science the evolving
  discipline, Zemke, R Clark, F. ( 1996),p. 81
  88.
• Perspectives on Play by Diane Parham in
  Occupational science the evolving discipline,
  Zemke, R Clark, F. ( 1996),p. 71-80.
• Parham, LD, Fazio, LS.(1997)Play in Occupational
  Therapy for Children. Chapter 1, 3