Play behavior and attachment in toddlers with autism.
Play helps to develop social skills. Children with autism show deviances in their play behavior that may be associated with delays in their social development. In this study, we investigated manipulative, functional and symbolic play behavior of toddlers with and without autism (mean age: 26.45, SD 5.63). The results showed that the quality of interaction between the child and the caregiver was related to the development of play behavior. In particular, security of attachment was related to better play behavior. When the developmental level of the child is taken into account, the attachment relationship of the child with the caregiver at this young age is a better predictor of the level of play behavior than the child's disorder.
Naber
Fabiënne B A
FB
Centre for Child and Family studies, University of Leiden, 9555, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands. Fnaber@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Bakermans-Kranenburg
Marian J
MJ
van Ijzendoorn
Marinus H
MH
Swinkels
Sophie H N
SH
Buitelaar
Jan K
JK
Dietz
Claudine
C
van Daalen
Emma
E
van Engeland
Herman
H
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013997:Time Factors