Play (section within chapter 1) - Pino, B. (2006) "Computers as an environment for facilitating social interaction in children with autistic spectrum disorders". PhD Thesis, University of Edinburgh, UK

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Computers As An Environment For Facilitating Social
Interaction In Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorders
PHD Thesis - Edinburgh University - 2006
Begoña Pino
1.3 Play
Defining play beyond a general ‘fun and entertaining’ activity is difficult, and it is
better achieved by describing its characteristics. One of the earliest definitions of play
was given by Huizinga (1938):
“[Play is] a free activity standing quite consciously outside ”ordinary” life as
being ”not serious”, but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and
utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be
gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space
according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation of
social groupings which tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress
their difference from the common world by disguise or other means.” (p. 13).
In summary, Huizinga stated that play is free, absorbing, unprofitable, within
boundaries and promotes social groupings. Caillois (1958) modified this definition
slightly to describe play as free (not obligatory), separate (circumscribed to certain pre-
set limits of time and space), uncertain (unknown outcome), unproductive, governed
by rules, and make-believe “accompanied by a special awareness of a second reality or
of a free unreality, as against real life” (p.10). Garvey (1977) also referred to a number
of these characteristics, such as it being pleasurable and enjoyable, being without a
goal imposed from the outside, spontaneous and voluntary, and involving some active
engagement on the part of the player. Roeyer and Van Berckelaer-Onnes (1994) added
that play should be flexible and engaging, with a non-literal orientation, and that it
should prioritise the means over the end product, which is to say that it is the process
rather than the outcome that is important.
The importance of play lies in allowing children to learn new skills and practise them in
a safe environment (Boucher, 1999). Crawford (1982) explains that games allow
children to experience conflict and danger without having to endure the consequences
of their physical realisations, which, as in the case of some video games and
simulations e.g.: flight simulators, might be serious damage or death (Griffiths, 1997).
More specifically, social play also allows children to experiment with roles and
interaction, which is the basis of developing friendship skills such as intimacy, trust,
negotiation and compromise (Restal and Magill-Evans, 1994), but without the anxiety
that a real life situation may generate, especially in children with ASD who find these
social contexts more challenging. Learning about social skills in the context of play has
an important effect in the proxemics of the interaction: children may allow others to
breach their normal zone of comfortable distance without feeling threatened, and this
may help to enlarge both the zone of personal space within which interactions can be
attempted or the range of people accepted in that zone (Restal and Magill- Evans,

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1994). This is even more important when dealing with children with ASD who often
find the usual social settings of childhood typically too stressful to engage in.
1.3.1 Autistic Play
All children play, and children with ASD are no exception. It is easy to assume that
individuals with ASD do not play as they might not engage in play in a conventionally
recognized way (Donnelly & Bovee, 2003). This is why observing social play is essential
in identifying and diagnosing autistic spectrum disorders (Jordan, 2003). There are
specific forms of play, such as chasing and ‘rough and tumble’ play, where children
with autism display social skills rarely seen in other contexts, for instance (Beiberich
and Morgan, 1998).
In general terms, children with autism tend to be more preoccupied with objects than
with people. This prevents them from engaging more in interactive play when
compared to their peers. They also seem to restrict their play to simple manipulation
rather than to engage in pretend play: for example, given a toy car, a child with autism
may spin the wheels instead of pretending to drive or race with it (Deudney, 2005).
Nevertheless, children with ASD can engage in pretend play when it is elicited and very
structured, but their main difficulty is in the initiation of this type of play (Wolfberg,
1999). It is possible that the difficulties experienced when previously attempting to
engage in social play may have resulted in repeated failure and frustration, with this in
turn destroying their motivation to engage in any kind of play (Stahmer, 1999).
The problem is that not engaging in play with others can cause social isolation and can
prevent children with autism from developing and practising new social skills (Boucher,
1999). In addition, the type of play preferred by children with autism does not seem to
attract the interest of their peers, who typically do not engage with them (Williams et
al., 2001). This generates a no-win context in which children with autism do not
engage in the play of their peers and viceversa, both missing out on interactive play.
If general learning takes place in a social context, as detailed in previous sections, a
lack of involvement in all forms of social interaction is clearly an obstacle in the
learning process. If key skills are learned through play, and if children with autism do
not have the social skills to engage in the necessary play, then it seems reasonable to
hypothesise that learning to play might unlock their social learning. In addition,
teaching children with autism to play could provide them with an opportunity to
experience mastery which in turn could increase their motivation to play (Boucher,
1999).
If the relevance of teaching play skills is accepted, it is important to point out that
peers provide a highly eliciting situation for pretend play and for social interaction
(Wolfberg, 1999). On the other hand, Dunlop et al. (2002) have emphasised the need
for real life activities and for a natural setting in which to practise those skills. Play is a
real life activity, and peers are real life social partners who have the potential to be
ideal teachers for children with autism. In fact, children with autism seem more
responsive to their siblings than their parents where play initiations are concerned (El-
Ghoroury and Romanczyk, 1999). Whether this is the consequence of children with

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autism being more responsive to other children, or other children (their siblings in this
case) being more naturally in tune with other children, including those with ASD, is not
known. The point is that peers might be better ‘therapists’ than adults, and, if the
‘therapy’ is based on playing, when interacting with a peer the child with autism not
only increases his age-appropriate social network but also the possibility of being
mentored by these peers.
In summary, children with autism should learn to play: it is the way children learn and
interact on a daily basis, it is safe, it can cross interpersonal barriers and ultimately, it is
a highly motivating route to knowledge.
References
• Bieberich, A. A. & Morgan, S. B. (1998). Brief Report: Affective Expression in
Children with Autism or Down syndrome. Journal of Autism and
Developmental Disorders, 28 (4), 333-338.
• Boucher J. (1999). Editorial: interventions with children with autism methods
based on play. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 15(1) 234-254.
• Caillois, R. (1958). Man, play and games. The Free Press, Glencoe, New York,
1961.
• Crawford, C. (1982). The Art of Computer Game Design. Available at:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html (Ref
Date: Sep. 2006).
• Deudney, C. (2005). Play and Autism. London: National Autistic Society. Web
publication: http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=306&a=3353 (Ref
Date: Sep. 2006).
• Donnelly J., & Bovee, J-P. (2003). Reflections on Play: Recollections from a
Mother and her Son with Asperger Syndrome. Autism, 7(5), 471-476.
• Dunlop, A.W., Knott, F., & MacKay, T. (2002). Developing Social Interaction
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• Garvey, C. (1977). Play. London: Fontana.
• Griffiths, M. (1997). Video games: the good news. Education and Health, 15(1),
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• Huizinga, J. (1938). Homo Ludens. Boston: Beacon Press.
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• Restall G. & Magill-Evans J. (1994). Play and preschool children with autism.
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31(1), 67-77.
• Wolfberg, P. J. (1999). Play and imagination in children with autism. New
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