The Social Play Record: A Toolkit for Assessing And Developing Social Play from Infancy to Adolescence

143 Pages·2006·1.98 MB·English

by  Chris White

The Social Play Record
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The Social Play Record
A Toolkit for Assessing and Developing
Social Play from Infancy to Adolescence
Chris White
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2006
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Chris White 2006
The right of Chris White to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying
or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use
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copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the
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damages and criminal prosecution.
All pages marked(cid:1)may be photocopied for training purposes, but may not be reproduced in other forms or for
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
White, Chris, 1953-
The social play record : a toolkit for assessing and developing social play from
infancy to adolescence / Chris White.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84310-400-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-84310-400-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Autistic children--Education. 2.
Autistic children--Rehabilitation. 3. Social skills in children--Study and teaching. 4. Social
interaction in children--Study and teaching. 5. Play therapy. I. Title.
RJ506.A9W46 2006
649'.154--dc22
2005034981
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978 1 84310 400 1
ISBN-10: 1 84310 400 8
ISBN pdf eBook: 1 84642 517 4
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Printwise (Haverhill) Ltd, Suffolk
This work is dedicated to Norman, Amy, Fraser and Jenny,
who challenged (and changed) my thinking.
Acknowledgements
Iwouldliketoacknowledgethecollectiveinterest,participationandcommitmentof
themanyindividuals–parents,children,teachers,assistantsandspeechandlanguage
therapiststhroughoutLincolnshire–whocontributedtothedevelopmentandevalua-
tionoftheSocialPlayRecord(SPR).Particularthanksareduetothestaffandpupilsat
Gosberton House School for their involvement and sound criticism, and to Simone
Gloverof LincolnshireAutismOutreach.Iwouldalsoliketoacknowledgemyspon-
sors,LincolnshireAutisticSocietyandTrentFocusResearchandDevelopmentGroup,
for funding the research, and to thank Dr Glenys Jones, University of Birmingham
AutismUnit,andDrJaneDyas,TrentR&DGroup,UniversityofNottingham,fortheir
adviceandsupport.Finally,thanksareduetomyhusbandforhisloveandforbearance.
Contents
Introduction 9
What is the Social Play Record?
PART 1:USER GUIDE FOR THE SPR ASSESSMENT
RESOURCE 11
1. Overview of the SPR Assessment 13
2. How to use the SPR Assessment Resource 17
Home Comments Sheet 17
Play Observation Sheets 17
Practitioner Rating of Peer Relationships 19
Peer Preferences Chart 20
Questionnaire about Friends 22
Scoring the SPR Assessment 23
Planning Intervention 26
3. The SPR Assessment Sheets 29
Home Comments Sheet 30
Play Observation Sheets 32
Early Social Play 32
Unoccupied 33
Independent Play 34
Peer Play 35
Advanced Group Play 38
Friendship Skills 39
Practitioner Rating of Peer Relationships 40
Peer Preferences Chart 41
Questionnaire about Friends 42
Summary Sheet 44
Class Summary Profile 45
Planning Sheet 46
Score Sheets 47
Progress Chart 51
PART 2:LINKS TO INTERVENTION 53
4. How it all Fits Together 55
Early Social Play 56
Unoccupied or Preoccupied 58
Independent Play 58
Peer Play 61
Advanced Group Play 65
Friendship Skills 66
Conclusion 71
APPENDIX1:WORKEDEXAMPLESFROMTHESPRASSESSMENT 73
APPENDIX2:IDEASANDTEMPLATESFORDEVELOPINGSOCIALPLAY 89
APPENDIX3:SMALLSTEPSCHARTS 103
APPENDIX4:THEORYANDRESEARCH 131
EVALUATIONBYUSERS 138
REFERENCES 139
Introduction
What is the Social Play Record?
The Social Play Record (SPR) is a practical tool for assessing and developing
social play in children with social interaction needs, particularly autistic
spectrumdisorders. Socialplayisabout relating to others, playingand making
friends,importantskillswhichhavealong-termimpactonadjustmentinsociety,
well-being and qualityof life. The SPR is a step-by-step resource for assessing
and developing these skills. It was designed and researched by education and
health workers, in collaboration with parents and children.
The Social Play Record has two components: Assessment and Links to Inter-
vention. The SPR Assessment identifies a child’s social play skills and needs,
considers others’ perceptions and examines the contexts in which social play
occurs.The‘PlayObservation’sectionisaphotocopiableresourceforsystemati-
cally recording the different kinds of social play in which a child engages and
the key skillsachieved at each stage. It is easily completed by those who know
thechild. TheSPRAssessmentalsolooksattheimpactof opportunity,experi-
ence and attitudes on social play. There is a questionnaire for parents, a rating
scaleforpractitioners,apeerpreferenceschartforchildrenandaquestionnaire
on friends for self-evaluation. This range of measures makes the SPR flexible
acrossages,abilitiesandsettingsandhelpstoaddressissuesof socialinclusion.
For a see-at-a-glance reference there is a summary sheet, a planning sheet, a
profile of scores and a progress chart. Part 1, User Guide for the SPR Assessment
Resource, explains how to use each section of the SPR Assessment, score the
findings and plan intervention.
Part 2, Links to Intervention, relates assessment findings to intervention,
providing a framework for developing social play. It offers practical guidance
for what to work on, when and how. The sections in LinkstoIntervention corre-
spond to those in the SPR Assessment. Approaches, strategies, activities and
resources are recommended for each type of social play, together with small-
stepscomponentskillsfortargetsetting.LiketheSPRAssessment,LinkstoInter-
vention addresses others’ attitudes and the social play environment as well as
looking at skill development.
Social play influences many areas of development, including cognitive,
social, emotional, linguistic and cultural aspects. It is a primary route to social
inclusion.Throughsocialplay,childrendevelopaninterestinsocialinteraction
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THESOCIALPLAYRECORD
and learn about the two-way process of communication. They learn critical
socialskills:howtoengagewithothers,enjoyothers’company,getalongwith
others, buildrelationshipsanddevelopfriendships. Allchildrenhavearight to
the knowledge, skills, opportunities and experiences that lead to such social
competence. The Social Play Record offers systematic assessment and targeted
intervention for children who experience difficulty with social interaction. It
supports development and social inclusion by enhancing the understanding,
knowledge and skills of families, children, practitioners and peers.
TheSPRisaflexibletool.Itspansdevelopmentfromearlyinfancytoado-
lescence,providinganongoingrecordofsocialplay.Itcanbeintroducedatany
age or stage withinthis developmentalrange. It isapplicable for children of all
learningabilitiesinanyeducationalorsocialsetting.Itwasoriginallydesigned
for children with autistic spectrum disorders but has since proved helpful for
children with other types of social interaction difficulty, including social care
needs. It is an abilities-based assessment that focuses on emerging skills,
strengthsandinterests,butitalsorecordsatypicalvariationswithinunevende-
velopmental profiles so as to give a complete picture of social play.
Socialplayisanareaofconcernfrequentlyraisedbyparents,teachers,clini-
ciansandchildrenwithsocialinteractionneeds.TheSPRisacollaborativetool,
designed to encourage children, parents, carers and practitioners to work
together,sharingtheirobservationsandcomplementaryknowledge.TheSPRis
astructuredtool.Itpullstogetherqualitativeandquantitativeinformationinan
easily accessible way, helping parents and practitioners to identify social play
skills and needs, set intervention targets, and demonstrate progress. Its
skills-based focus and small-steps structure readily translate into individual
targets for education, therapy or care plans.
TheSPRisfoundedonacomprehensivereviewofwell-substantiatedliter-
ature,reflectingempiricalthinkingandbestpractice.Ithasbeenevaluatedover
fiveyearsoffieldtrialsandshowntohavetheoreticalvalidity,meetingthespeci-
ficationsforafunctionalassessmentofsocialplay,andpracticalapplication,ad-
dressing educational and clinical needs for assessment and intervention. The
SocialPlayRecordisacceptablewithincompetencyframeworks,meetingprac-
titioners’ requirements for evidence-based practice.
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