Building Early Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Social Communication Difficulties
Plan for People Play is the first booklet in the Make Play R.O.C.K. series for parents of children with autism. This booklet offers simple, research-based ideas for how parents can build their child’s social interaction skills during “people games” – interaction-focused games that provide an ideal context for learning.
Highlights include examples of over two dozen people games and a “Game Plan” template to help parents plan their next people game and how they’ll help their child learn.
Make Play R.O.C.K.TM Booklet Series
If you have a young child with autism, you may have noticed that he has difficulty learning to play. His play may be less flexible or creative than that of other children, and it may rarely involve other people.
The Make Play R.O.C.K.TM booklet series gives you practical, research-based strategies for expanding your child’s play skills during everyday play activities. You’ll learn powerful ways to get involved in your child’s play and help him learn while having fun together. After all, fun is what play is all about!
Why is Play So Important?
Your child learns something from every play experience. When he picks up a toy train and spins its wheels, he learns that he can make things happen. When he hears you say, “That train’s wheels go round and round”, he discovers that objects and actions have names. And when he holds a toy stethoscope to his sister’s chest, pretending to be a doctor, he has a chance to experience what it feels like to be someone else.
Play skills are linked to the development of a variety of other abilities, including social skills, vocabulary, language skills, and even how to solve problems. When you help your child learn to play, you increase his opportunities to learn about himself and the world around him, and you help him discover how much fun it is to play and interact with other people.
