title: Systematic observation of play behavior in autistic children.
abstract: The play behavior, defined as interaction with peers and objects, of five autistic children was systematically observed in four environments, i.e., a stark environment, a theraplay unit, a playroom, and an outside play deck. The preliminary results suggested that (1) with some children environment has little or no effect on their play behavior; (2) with multiple objects, autistic children frequently related to the objects rather than to their peers; (3) object play was most frequently at the manipulative stage and often included repetitive and negative behavior; (4) within a confined space with no objects present, autistic children frequently engaged in solitary repetitive behavior; and (5) within a confined space designed to facilitate a movement flow (theraplay), autistic children modeled and imitated and were involved in gross motor play together.
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D009769:Object Attachment; D010379:Peer Group; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior