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Symbolic Play of Preschoolers with Severe Communication Impairments with Autism and Other Developmental Delays: More Similarities than Differences

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Abstract

Children with autism are often described as having deficient play skills, particularly symbolic play. We compared the play of 35 children with autism to 38 children with other developmental delays. All children were preschool-age and produced less than 20 different words. Results indicated no significant differences across the two groups in their play. Children with autism engaged in more conventional play, that is, putting objects together according to how the toys were constructed (e.g., pieces in a puzzle, lid on a teapot). Results also indicated high correlations between play, language, and cognitive measures. Findings indicate that play relates to language and cognitive levels yet may not discriminate children with autism and children with other developmental delays early in their development.

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Acknowledgments

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health—National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (R01 DC 007684); and the National Institutes of Health—National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01 HD 018955). We would also like to thank the core support service of the Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, University of Kansas, funded by National Institutes of Health—National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30 HD 002528). We gratefully acknowledge our project coordinators and research assistants for their diligent efforts on this project, and the participating families for their time and ongoing support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Ave, Room 1065, Lawrence, KS, 66045-7555, USA

    Kathy S. Thiemann-Bourque, Nancy C. Brady & Kandace K. Fleming

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  1. Kathy S. Thiemann-Bourque
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  2. Nancy C. Brady
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  3. Kandace K. Fleming
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Correspondence to Kathy S. Thiemann-Bourque.

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Thiemann-Bourque, K.S., Brady, N.C. & Fleming, K.K. Symbolic Play of Preschoolers with Severe Communication Impairments with Autism and Other Developmental Delays: More Similarities than Differences. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 863–873 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1317-7

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