Building Early Social Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Social Communication Difficulties

Take Out the Toys is the second booklet in the Make Play R.O.C.K.TM Booklet Series for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and other communication difficulties.

This booklet offers practical, research-based guidance for expanding children’s “functional play” – the kind of early toy play that involves doing conventional or “expected” actions on toys. Filled with easy-to-follow guidance and concrete examples, this booklet helps parents promote their child’s play skills while having fun together.

Highlights include a checklist to identify children’s stage of play and next “play step” and a “Toy Play Plan” to help parents plan their child’s next play step.

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.