Editorial

Abstract

This special issue of Autism is intended to provide a resource for those inter-ested in play in autism, whether from a theoretical or a practical viewpoint. The special issue is therefore intentionally broad in scope: it consists of a theoretical section, followed by a section on interventions; and a larger than usual number of articles are included so that a wide range of topics can be considered. The individual articles are therefore necessarily short, and are designed to provide overviews of their topics rather than serve as vehicles for new ideas, detailed research data, or in-depth reviews. We asked the authors to provide plenty of references, so that interested readers can go on to explore any particular topic in greater depth. Thus, the special issue is introductory, and we hope that it will provide a launch pad for further reading by parents, students, and professionals not already well versed in the literature on play. There are inevitable lacunae: it was difficult to decide what to try to cover, and what to leave out, especially because we wanted the articles in the theoretical section to be broadly linked to articles in the section on intervention. Thus, in the theoretical section there is an article (by Williams) on the theoretical aspects of early play in autism, and in the inter-ventions section the article by Van Berckelaer-Onnes describes an inter-vention programme designed to promote early play. Similarly, in the theoretical section there is an article (by Jordan) on social play in autism, and in the interventions section the articles by Wieder and Greenspan and by Yang and colleagues describe methods of promoting social play with adults and with peers, respectively. Equally, the articles by Jarrold and by Lewis in the theoretical section prepare the readers for Schuler's article on intervention designed to promote language and communication. The inter-ventions section also includes an article (by Stahmer et al.) on behavioural approaches to promoting play because this type of methodology has made important contributions to play-based intervention. The special issue is rounded off by an account of the contrasting per-spectives on play of a mother and her son with Asperger syndrome. In this account, Julie Donnelly describes how the activities that gave her son, Jean-Paul Bovee, pleasure as a child do not seem to her to have constituted real play. In contrast, Jean-Paul describes the delight he took in his particular autism © 2003 SAGE Publications and The National Autistic Society Vol 7(4) 339–346; 038185 1362-3613(200312)7:4 01 Editorial (bc/d) 15/10/03 11:57 AM Page 339 hobbies and obsessional activities: they were play to him. This pinpoints some basic issues, including questions concerning the nature and definition of play, the nature of play in children with autism, and how the limited and idiosyncratic play typical of autism is both a consequence and a secondary cause of the condition. Donnelly's closing remark, 'Had I understood the importance of play when [Jean-Paul] was young, I would have . . . sat on the floor and played with my child', pinpoints, in addition, the importance of using our knowledge of play, and of play in autism, to inform inter-vention. These four basic issues are considered in turn below.