ABA & Play

“I Want To Start ABA, But I’m Afraid My Child Will Not Play!”

Playing is a foundational skill that children begin to engage in at birth. Babies begin to engage in play by exploring the way their body moves, and engaging with toys that are placed in front of them. As children develop their play skills, these skills begin to expand and build based off their age.

Children on the autism spectrum can at times struggle with the development of play, and resort to isolation or playing by themselves. This often occurs because of difficulties that children on the spectrum have with understanding how to play, or reading social cues from other peers during cooperative play. Seeking ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) as a resource to help your child develop these skills is the first step to begin to build the ideas and concepts around play.

Misconceptions About ABA Therapy

There are definitely many misconceptions that parents have when looking to start ABA services. A primary misconception is that their child needs to possess certain foundational skills in their ability to play in order for ABA to be successful. Luckily, this is not true at all. As experts in the field, and as an extremely play based Center, we know that sometimes play is a skill that will need to be taught.

Importance of Play

During an initial assessment for ABA, play is a domain th at is heavily focused on. When assessing, the therapist will observe the child’s social interactions with others, play functions (i.e. parallel play, cooperative play, or solitary play), and their ability to adapt to social changes within their environment. Based off of these findings, a treatment plan is created and 1:1 therapy as well as group therapy with an RBT (Registered Behavior Technician), who helps to teach and facilitate play, will begin.

Then comes the fun part! The therapists on every child’s team are able to teach each child how to play, based on understanding what motivates them as well as how they learn. The RBT’s will contrive an environment that fosters play for each child.

Fostering Play with Children on the Spectrum

They work on parallel play, interactive play, independent play, and how to appropriately approach peers to build relationships. Another core piece of teaching a child how to play, is giving each parent the tools to help them be successful. Here are a few tips that can help with fostering play with children on the spectrum:

• – Make sure to sit in front of your child, in order for them to easily communicate and model your actions.
• – Provide your child with choices by placing 2-3 items in front of them, and asking them to pick one.
• – Encourage your child to engage in play appropriately. You can show them how to push the car down the ramp, or use puppets to make silly voices, for example.
• – Know when to change topics or introduce a new toy. It is important to look for signs of boredom or disinterest!

Play is an essential part of childhood.  If your child would benefit from ABA, know that play is heavily incorporated into each and every child’s care plan and intervention strategies, in order to engage fully with each child, motivate them to learn and most of all HAVE FUN!

More Questions?

The pediatric specialists at Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center love helping kids play every day and would be thrilled to help your child develop their play skills through behavior therapy. To schedule your assessment or sessions at our Center, call our office today at 773-687-9241!