EITI NewsletterEarly Intervention Training Institute Winter 1997-1998

Rose F. Kennedy Center ■ University Affiliated Program

YOUNG CHILDREN’S OBJECT PLAY:A WINDOW ON DEVELOPMENT

Anyone spending time with young children knowsthat they like to play with toys and other objects.Observing their play can enrich our understanding oftheir development. The following discussion willillustrate ways in which developmental assessment ofyoung children’s object play can be useful to earlychildhood professionals. The focus will be onsymbolic play, which involves the use of figures andrelated objects to represent actions and events.

USES OF PLAY ASSESSMENTScreening. Brief (5 to 10 minute) observation of

object play can give a rough estimate of a youngchild’s developmental level. This can help preschoolteachers, day care providers, pediatricians, childwelfare workers, and others decide whether to refer achild for comprehensive developmental evaluation.

Supplement to formal assessment. Observingobject play is a useful supplement to formalassessment completed by clinicians of variousdisciplines. For example, a speech pathologist orpsychologist may observe a child’s play with toys togain information about symbolic capacities andreadiness for intervention requiring understanding oruse of symbols.

Assessment of “untestable” children. Somepreschool children are very difficult to test.Sometimes this is because testing instruments do notpresent appealing materials or a sufficient number ofeasy items. Sometimes preschool children becomedistressed by imposed demands and cannot involvethemselves in activities structured by someone else.(This is particularly true of children with pervasivedevelopmental disorders.) Free play with toys, whichis structured by the child rather than the adult, givesinformation about developmental levels and behavioreven when children refuse to cooperate for formaltesting.

Context for obtaining a language sample. Mostpreschoolers who have language will use it as theyplay with toys. Some will comment on their activities.The more advanced may create dialogue between dollsor action figures. Play provides a context for obtaininga sample of the child’s spontaneous language.

DEVELOPMENT OF OBJECT PLAY ANDEMERGENCE OF SYMBOLIC CAPACITIES

A number of investigators (e.g. Belsky & Most, 1981;Bond, Creasy, & Abrams, 1990; Jarrold, Boucher, &Smith, 1993; McCune-Nicholich, 1981; Westby, 1980,1991) have described the development of play skillsduring early childhood. Although terminology andareas of emphasis differ among investigators, there is

fairly consistent agreement about the sequence ofdevelopmental stages. It should be noted that,although the following age ranges are provided asgeneral guidelines, the range of normal is broad.

6-12 months. Before a child engages in symbolicplay, there is initially a period of general manipulationof objects (mouthing, touching, looking). During thelatter part of the first year, as finger dexterity and finemotor coordination improve, children modify theirmovements to fit features of objects (e.g., spinning thewheels of a toy car, or pushing a button to make asound).

Before children can understand and use language orengage in representational play, they must be able toform mental representations of things they encounter.They must be able to remember that an object exists,even when they cannot see it, touch it, or put it intotheir mouths. During the latter part of the first year, achild will briefly remember that a toy is nearby even ifthe toy is covered by a blanket. When a child searchesfor a hidden toy, we infer that the child has formed amental representation of the toy.

12-17 months. During the first part of the secondyear, children explore toys actively and try to discovertheir function. The focus is on physical characteristicsof the toys.

17-24 months. During the middle part of thesecond year, the child with typical development willbegin to use toys representationally. The first step isto relate toys to self (pretending to drink from a doll’sbottle, trying to sit on a small doll’s chair). The childrecognizes that the toys represent meaningful objects.The toys are no longer things to be pushed, dropped,held, mouthed or explored for their physicalcharacteristics. The child’s actions are now based onunderstanding of function.

As representational capacities further develop, thechild will relate objects to dolls rather than to self. Thechild may, for example, place a doll in a doll bed orpretend to feed a doll with a spoon.

24 months. By 2 years of age, a child with typicaldevelopment should be able to understand, use, andcombine several different kinds of symbols: words,pictures, and symbolic gestures. At about the time thechild begins to combine words to create a phraserepresenting two or more ideas (“Mommy go”), he orshe should begin to combine representational toys, forexample relating toy cups, bottles, chairs, or beds todoll figures.

24-36 months. Toy play becomes more complex asthe child matures. More toys are combined torepresent an event. We begin to see evidence ofdecontexualization. Play becomes removed from theimmediate situation. The child may play out eventsless frequently experienced. Decontexualization is also

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apparent in use of objects whose physicalcharacteristics do not indicate function, or thesubstitution of one object for another. For example, achild may use a stick to represent a spoon or a stoneto represent a bed. A child may place figures on atable and call it a “bus”. According to Westby (1980),object substitution emerges between approximately 30and 36 months. Jarrold et al. (1993) have suggestedthat decontexualization can also be inferred fromattribution of absent or false properties. For example,a child might say that an empty cup contains “coffee”or might talk about the presence of imaginary objects(“They’re watching TV”).

36-48 months. Three-year-old children withtypical development can create sequences of themesand events during play with toys. Fantasy playemerges and they organize play scenarios involvingevents which they have never experienced but areable to think about. We begin to see evidence ofplanning (“They’re gonna go to the store”).

48-60 months. By the end of the preschool period,children can plan a sequence of pretend events,coordinate more than one event, and set up complexplay scenarios without using realistic props. Theycan engage in complex fantasy play and createextensive dialogue, including changes of voice for dollfigures.

PLAY ASSESSMENT APPROACHESLowe and Costello’s Symbolic Play Test. The

Symbolic Play Test (Lowe & Costello, 1988) wasdeveloped for children aged 12 to 36 months. Allmaterials and a brief administrative manual areavailable in a commercially published kit.Administrative time is approximately 10 to 15minutes. Four sets of toys are presented instandardized arrays. The child plays freely withoutadult involvement. Scoring criteria specify the actionsand toy combinations which receive scoring credit.Although the test was normed for British children, thesets of toys will be familiar to most Americanchildren. Power and Radcliffe (1991) discuss use ofthe test for cognitive assessment.

Westby Scales. Westby’s Symbolic Play ScaleChecklist was initially published in 1980, andsubsequently expanded to add further assessmentcategories (Westby, 1991). For most clinicians andteachers, the original 1980 version, which consists ofa checklist showing the parallel development ofsymbolic play and language, will have greatestpractical usefulness. Evaluators provide their owntoys (dolls, utensils, doll furniture). There is nospecified array or order of presentation. The childplays freely, and the evaluator uses the checklist todetermine developmental levels suggested by toycombinations, sequences, decontexualization, andplanning. Ten play stages, relevant to children aged 9months to 5 years, are described.

HOW TO CONDUCT A PLAYASSESSMENT SESSION

Materials. Play assessment can be conducted withthe kinds of toys found in preschool classrooms, orminiature (doll house size) toys may be used. At aminimum, the following objects should be available:doll, table, chair, bed, spoon, cup, and dish.Additional utensils and dishes, furniture, a set ofshelves, pretend foods, a doll family, and one or more

“ambiguous” objects are also desirable.The presence of ambiguous objects invites object

substitution and higher order representation.Ambiguous objects can be such things as a block, tube,piece of cloth, rod, or even a piece of furniture whosedesign does not immediately suggest a specificfunction. For example, children might use a set ofshelves to store food or dishes (standard orientation),as showers for dolls (vertical orientation), or as sleepingspaces for dolls (horizontal orientation).

Procedure. Find a quiet place where the child willnot be disturbed by others. Present representationaltoys (dolls, utensils, furniture) and invite the child toplay with them. If previous observations suggest thatthe child is prone to overstimulation anddisorganization, present very few toys initially, and addothers gradually. Do not make any suggestions. Resistthe temptation to ask questions or engage the child inconversation. Let the child have total responsibility forstructuring the activity free of adult input. Do notinvite interactive play. Some children will offer theadult “coffee” or “food”. Accept them graciously, but trynot to extend or elaborate the interaction. Keepyourself busy taking extensive notes. Recordeverything the child does with the toys, payingparticular attention to combinations of toys andsequences of events. Record everything the child sayswhile playing. Record any unusual behaviors (smellingtoys, lining up toys, engaging in repetitive actions withtoys). Let the child play freely for 5 to 10 minutes.Then remove the toys or let the child help put themaway.

ANALYSISDevelopmental issues. The analysis of information

gained from a play assessment session involves bothdevelopmental and behavioral dimensions. Use of astandardized instrument such as the Symbolic PlayTest, or a checklist such as the Westby Scale, can helpa clinician, teacher, or other professional estimate achild’s developmental level within a play context. If thechild’s play skills are below his or her chronologicalage, the possibility of cognitive impairment should beconsidered. If a nonverbal child engages in generalmanipulation of objects (touching nonspecifically,sliding across a surface, dropping), and does not usetoys representationally, the child’s lack of languagemay be due to global delay. If a child with little or nolanguage engages in representational play which meetsage expectations, the child’s language limitations maybe due to specific language impairment or other causerather than global delay.

Behavioral and diagnostic issues. Object playprovides a useful context for observing young children’sbehavior. Answering the following kinds of questionscan help to clarify and differentiate developmentalproblems:

1. Is the child’s behavior different during adult-imposed tasks and self-structured free play with toys?

Some children will be very active and oppositionalduring formal testing or other adult-structuredactivities, and may show a decrease in activity level andoppositional behavior when adult demands areremoved. Discomfort with demands may suggest thepossibility of pervasive developmental disorder.

2. Does the child try out a number of differentpossibilities with the toys?

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Children who exhibit a restricted repertoire of playbehaviors, show little curiosity, or perseverate on thesame action may have cognitive limitations and/orpervasive developmental disorders.

3. Does the child focus exclusively on an irrelevantpart of a toy?

A child’s tendency to overfocus on an insignificantdetail may suggest the possibility of pervasivedevelopmental disorder. For example, a child withpervasive developmental disorder may becomepreoccupied with threads found on a doll blanket,twisting the threads rather than showing interest inthe function of the blanket.

4. Does the child have trouble maintainingconcentration for elaborating play themes?

While failure to elaborate play themes may reflectcognitive impairment, it may also indicate attentionalproblems. It may be possible to differentiate thesedevelopmental problems by observing whether the childintroduces themes even when they are not wellelaborated. A child with cognitive impairment is lessapt to introduce a variety of themes.

5. Does the child exhibit unusual behaviors whileplaying with toys?

Children with autistic spectrum disorders mayvocalize to themselves in a self-stimulatory mannerwhile playing. They may count the toys rather thanplaying with them. They may sniff toys, line them up,arrange them by color rather than function, or jumblethe toys together and listen to their sound.

CONCLUSIONObserving young children’s object play can provide

insights about their development and behavior. Whilenot in itself diagnostic of specific developmentaldisabilities, play assessment can help identifychildren’s need for evaluation and their potentialresponsiveness to intervention approaches. Utilizing

an activity which is enjoyed by most young children,play assessment can thus be a useful component ofboth screening and formal evaluation.

By Susan Vig

RREEFFEERREENNCCEESSBelsky, J. & Most, R.K. (1981). From exploration to play:

A cross-sectional study of infant free play behavior.Developmental Psychology, 17, 630-639.

Bond, L.A., Creasey, G.L., & Abrams, C.L. (1990). Playassessment: Reflecting and promoting cognitivecompetence. In Gibbs, E.D. & Teti, D.M., Eds.Interdisciplinary Assessment of Infants (pp. 113-128).Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes.

Jarrold, C., Boucher, J., & Smith, P. (1993). Symbolicplay in autism: A review. Journal of Autism andDevelopmental Disorders, 23, 281-308.

Lowe, M. & Costello, A.J. (1988). Symbolic Play Test(2nd Edition).

Published by Nfer-Nelson Publishing Co., Ltd., DarvilleHouse, 2 Oxford Road East, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1DF,England. Telephone: 0753 858961.

McCune-Nicholich, L. (1981). Toward symbolicfunctioning: Structure of early pretend games andpotential parallels with language. Child Development, 52,785-797.

Power, T.S. & Radcliffe, J. (1991). Cognitive assessmentof preschool play using the Symbolic Play Test. InSchaefer, C.E., Gitlin, K., & Sandgrund, A. (Eds.) PlayDiagnosis and Assessment (pp. 87-113). New York: Wiley.

Westby, C.E. (1991). A scale for assessing children’spretend play. In Schaefer, C.E., Gitlin, K. & Sandgrund, A.(Eds.) Play Diagnosis and Assessment (pp. 131-161). NewYork: Wiley.

Westby, C.E. (1980). Assessment of cognitive andlanguage abilities through play. Language, Speech, andHearing Services in Schools, 11, 154-168.

Edited by S. Vig and R. Kaminer Copyright © 1998