Conference:
ECER 2008
Format:
Paper
Session Information
PRE_G7, Preconference; Paper Session G7
Paper Session
Time:
2008-09-09
10:00-11:30
Room:
CE 04
Chair:
John I'Anson
Contribution
In this paper I discuss the ability of a researcher to observe and measure the play skills of 5-11 year old children with autism. The project arose from the already known importance play has in the improvement of every child’s social and emotional life and our concerns about the difficulties children with autism experience in play skills. The ability of children to play is pertinent to their social inclusion among their peer group. The focus of the paper arose from the need to investigate, understand and measure the exact nature of the children’s play progress in response to the introduction of two play interventions in a doctoral study.
Method
The study reported here is a pilot study with one of the primary aims being to find a method of assessing progress in play. The research adopts a quasi-experimental approach in order to compare baseline play skills with play skills following intervention. Visual methods of data collection are being used to provide a thorough and detailed picture of each child’s abilities. Computer Aided Qualitative Data Analysis Software will enhance the analysis of the data in combination with the use of event sampling, providing onset and offset time measurements which will further give an accurate sense of the amount of time children with autism engage in specific play skills. I am trialling use of an observational checklist being constituted from different categories of play skills and exemplified with predefined criteria in order to measure the play skills (and ultimately playfulness) of children with autism.
Expected Outcomes
The evidence will focus on the relative effectiveness, accuracy and fairness of such a checklist to give the real picture of a child’s ability to engage in play skills, including range of skills, skill development and intensity of play behaviour. Ultimately, I hope that the study’s findings will help to highlight a useful approach that will give an accurate and trustworthy way to measure the kind of play skills that children with autism can develop with support and have an impact on their everyday interactions with their peers in their school settings.
Keywords: autism, play skills, observation.
References
None until now
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