The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

This session explores patterns of social and imaginary activity among children with autism and typical peers participating in Integrated Play Groups (IPG), a research-based model. IPGs support diverse children in mutually engaging experiences within socially integrated school, home and community settings. Case portraits will illustrate methods to enhance social reciprocity and symbolic representation through guided participation in play. Implications of research and practice will be discussed in terms of creating opportunities for inclusion in the culture of play with peers. Peer play in childhood is an essential part of the human experience. Though expressions of peer play may differ across cultures and generations, it is clearly an instinctual and fundamental aspect of growing up. In peer play, children explore, discover, create and imagine while continually testing and expanding upon their knowledge of and relationship to the world around them. Yet, not every child follows the same path on their journey through the social and imaginary landscapes of childhood. In particular, children on the autism spectrum face many obstacles learning how to play and socialize with peers (Wolfberg, 2003; 2005; 2009).

This session explores patterns of social and imaginary activity among children with autism and typical peers participating in Integrated Play Groups (IPG), a research-based intervention model. IPGs support children of diverse ages and abilities in mutually engaging experiences within socially integrated school, home and community settings. Case portraits will illustrate methods to enhance social reciprocity and symbolic representation through guided participation in play. Implications of research and practice will be discussed in terms of creating opportunities for inclusion in the culture of play with peers.

Listed and described below are the following topic areas that will be highlighted:

·         Play’s Prominent Role in Childhood Development and Culture

·         Nature of Social and Symbolic Play in Children with Autism

·         Integrated Play Groups (IPG) Model in Research and Practice

·         Case Portraits of Children in IPGs

Play’s Prominent Role in Childhood Development and Culture

There is a prominent body of literature documenting the importance of play for children’s development and cultural participation (for reviews, see Wolfberg, 2003; 2009). Research suggests that play is vital for cognitive, social, emotional and language development.  Peers perform a unique role in supporting play in ways that adults cannot duplicate. Through shared experiences in play, children acquire many interrelated skills that are necessary for social-communicative competence and forming mutual friendships.

When children build social and imaginary worlds together, apart from adults, they create a play culture that is uniquely their own. It is within the play culture that children construct shared meanings, and transform their understanding of the skills, values, and knowledge inherent to society at large.

Play is also a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, many children with autism are deprived of this right when kept apart from their peer group and respective play cultures. The fact is that conditions suitable for most typical children to spontaneously play —providing access to space, time, props and peers — are not enough to ensure children with autism equal access to full participation in play.

Nature of Social and Symbolic Play in Children with Autism

Hallmarks of autism include a “lack of varied and imaginative or imitative play” and a “failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.” (APA, 2000). While within the autism spectrum children naturally differ from one another in distinct ways, as a group they share similar struggles in their capacity for peer play. They exhibit delays or differences in the development of spontaneous play which manifest in both symbolic and social forms. In sharp contrast to the richly imaginative and interactive play of typically developing children, the play of children with autism is strikingly stark and detached.

Without support, children with autism may spend excessive amounts of time pursuing repetitive activities in isolation. They are more inclined to engage in manipulation-sensory play, less inclined to engage in functional play and rarely produce symbolic-pretend play (Jarrold, 2003). They are also more likely to remain on the fringes of peer groups. Overall, they make fewer overt initiations to peers. By the same token, they are less likely to respond to peers’ social advances (Jordan, 2003). Coordinating play within a social-pretend framework is particularly complex since children with autism have problems comprehending and producing imaginative play.

Despite inherent problems, there is strong evidence that children with autism share many of the same desires and capacities for play, companionship and peer group acceptance as typical children (Boucher & Wolfberg, 2003; Jordan, 2003). What differs is that their intentions are expressed in ways that are uniquely their own. How the peer group responds to these children has an especially profound influence on the extent to which they may gain access to the peer culture and reap the benefits of play (Wolfberg et al., 1999). Without a system of support, they are highly vulnerable to being rejected or neglected by peers and thus deprived of opportunities to actualize their potential to socialize and play.

Integrated Play Groups (IPG) Model in Research and Practice

The Integrated Play Groups (IPG) model was created out of deep concern for the many children who are missing out on play experiences as a vital part of childhood (for recent overviews, see Wolfberg, 2004; Wolfberg et al., 2008; Wolfberg & Schuler, 2006). This research-based model incorporates practices based on developmental and sociocultural theory that emphasize “guided participation” in play to promote social engagement, interpersonal communication, play and imagination (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978). 

In an IPG, children with autism (novice players) participate in small groups with typical peers (expert players) organized around mutually engaging activities and themes. A qualified adult (play guide) facilitates spontaneous and reciprocal play while expanding on each child's social and symbolic play repertoire. Through a system of support, play sessions are tailored to the unique interests and developmental capacities of individual children. Emphasis is placed on maximizing each child’s developmental potential and intrinsic motivation to socialize and play. Equal emphasis is placed on guiding peers to be empathetic, responsive and accepting of the differing ways children with autism relate, communicate and play. Ultimately, the intent is for children to mediate their own play activities with minimal adult guidance. Embedded in this model are methods for observing, interpreting, and building on children's play interests and social-communicative abilities, and for designing environments conducive to social and imaginative play.

To evaluate the efficacy of the IPG model, a series of studies have been conducted (Lantz, et al., 2004; Mikaelan, 2003; O’Connor, 1999; Richard & Goupil, 2005; Wolfberg, 1994; 2009; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1992; 1993; Yang et al., 2003; Zercher et al., 2001). The accumulated findings show consistent evidence of notable gains in play along social and symbolic dimensions. Importantly, once acquired, these skills are maintained after adult support is withdrawn.  Further, there is preliminary evidence documenting generalization beyond the specific play group to other peers and siblings, settings (school, home, community), and social activity contexts.   

While the IPG model has been widely adopted while steadily gaining recognition as an empirically supported intervention (Iovannone et al., 2003), there is a need for ongoing research to address questions that as yet remain unanswered. To that end, Wolfberg and colleagues are embarking on a new long-term research project with funding from a treatment research grant awarded by Autism Speaks (Wolfberg et al., in preparation). The project includes a large-group study that employs a randomized controlled design to examine the social, communication and play development of children with autism and a qualitative study to examine the experiences of the typical peers participating in IPGs.

Case Portraits of Children in IPGs

Drawing from our research and practice, case portraits of four children representing diverse ages and abilities across the autism spectrum will be presented. The case portraits document patterns of social and imaginary activity among children with autism and typical peers participating in IPGs. They further illustrate the methods used to enhance social reciprocity and symbolic representation through guided participation in play as detailed in the IPG Field Manual (Wolfberg, 2003).

Learning Objectives: