A presentation by Dr. Thomas Higbee delivered at the 2019 Michigan Autism Conference. The open-access video below does not contain embedded questions or interactions like the CEU and coursepack versions.
Abstract
Play serves an important function in the lives of young children. Through play, children learn about the world around them and come to understand the social rules and conventions that define the human experience. Many young children with autism spectrum disorders, however, do not develop the skills necessary to play appropriately with other children or even when alone. Over the past several years, behavioral researchers have developed support strategies to teach young children with autism to play using a visual cueing system called photographic activity schedules in combination with social scripting and script fading. In the current presentation, strategies for using activity schedules and script fading to promote both independent and complex social play will be described and discussed. Recent research illustrating the effective use of activity schedules and script fading to promote complex social play between children with autism and their typically developing peers will also be presented and discussed.
