Autism and Play

By Lone Gammeltoft and Jannik Beyer

Book Overview

Many children on the autistic spectrum seem to be at a very early developmental stage in their play, which tends to be less spontaneous, exploratory and varied than that of other children. This accessible handbook describes different play sequences which encourage the integration of social, emotional and cognitive development in autistic children. The easy-to-follow play strategies focus on the four key skills of visualizing, imitation, mirroring and turn-taking. The book is illustrated throughout with photographs, and includes a questionnaire for observing and assessing play interventions as an appendix. The authors combine an accessible developmental approach with practical tried-and-tested play strategies. Autism and Play will enable parents to nurture their children's social and cognitive development, and will inform the practice of professionals working in close contact with children on the autistic spectrum. Jannik Beyer, PhD is a psychologist and Director of broendagerskolen, a special school for autistic children. He is a member of the board of directors of the Danish Association of Special Schools and Treatment Centres for Autistic Children. Lone Gammeltoft is a speech and language therapist and teacher at the broendagerskolen. Both authors have been working with children with autism for more than twenty years.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1853028452
• ISBN13: 9781853028458
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.8" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A short but valuable book

Autism and play haven't been connected much, although the problem has been outlined since Lovaas' time. This book has three great merits: 1) it offers a cognitive model for autism which goes beyond the mainstream understanding of this disorder. 2) it gives a short list of games and discusses the benefits of each - with applicability to other games. As a bonus: a development scale from the perspective of play. 3) it is short and written in a friendly style which makes it appealing to people without training in psychology or psychiatry. What this book is not: 1) a large collection of games. 2) a complete guide to design a play therapy. 3) a book for fun activities with your children (autistic or not). If you work with a child with autism, this is a valuable and much needed resource.

Play therapy key for children with autism

"Autism and Play" is a great book for anyone who thinks that play therapy is a key part for the success of children with autism.