The Play of Children with Special Needs in Mainstream and Special Education settings

Abstract

EDUCATORS AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS regard play as a primary occupation of childhood, which in the case of children with special needs has not been well studied. The aim of this descriptive study was to observe the free-play behaviour of children with special needs in both special education and mainstream education settings. The Revised Preschool Play Scale and Lunzer Scale of Organisation of Play Behaviour were used to observe and record short play samples of 12 children with special needs, aged 48 to 84 months, in both educational settings. Results suggest that developmental play skills remained constant between the two settings. This study highlights the strong developmental foundations provided by play as well as advocating for the importance of play assessment in school-based therapy.