Effects of Age and Developmental Status of Partners on Play of Preschoolers With Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how total duration of social play of preschool children with disabilities varied as a function of both chronological and developmental age of their social partners. Fifty-five 33- to 60-month-old children with mild to moderate developmental delays were observed in dyadic play situations with four different partners. Partners ranged from same age as the focal child to 23 months difference in age, and ranged in developmental status from typical to moderate delay. Results indicated that the influence of partner's developmental age on social play was different depending on the developmental age of the focal child. This interaction effect suggests that advantages accrued to preschoolers with disabilities from mixed-aged play groupings depend on the child's developmental age and those of available social partners.

Peer-Related Social Competence of Young Children With Down Syndrome

“…For heterogeneous groups of children with delays, a complex pattern exists with respect to the quality of peer interactions as influenced by combinations of the focal child’s and the playmate’s developmental levels (Skinner, Buysse, & Bailey, 2004). Nevertheless, children with Down syndrome may benefit substantially from the scaffolding of play provided by more skillful playmates.…”

A Systematic Review Comparing the Play Profiles of Children with Special Health Care Needs with Typically Developing Children

“…All studies reported that participants were observed either playing alone, with another child or with an adult; a summary is provided in Supplementary Tables 2 and 3 . Five studies reported to have observed children from the diagnostic groups playing with a playmate and, in most cases, the playmate was a child who was familiar to the child ([ 20 , 39 , 42 ]; S [ 10 , 41 ]). Four of five studies that reported on playmates included siblings as the playmates.…”

“…Seven of the 18 studies reported that participants were observed at school. Of these seven studies, three studies were conducted in the classroom [ 28 , 31 , 34 ], two studies were conducted in the playgrounds [ 17 , 39 ], and two studies were conducted both in the classroom and in the playground [ 36 , 40 ]. Two studies observed typically developing children in a school environment and the diagnostic group in the clinic [ 10 , 32 ].…”

“…The observation time varied from 10 seconds to 60 minutes per session. Seven of the 18 studies observed each participant for between 15 and 20 minutes [ 10 , 17 , 20 , 30 , 35 , 39 ]. Observation time was not reported in four studies ([ 29 , 32 , 33 ]; S [ 41 ]).…”

“…Eight studies used various coding approaches to record and analyse play among children [ 29 , 31 , 34 , 36 – 40 ]. For example, the study by Skinner et al [ 39 ] used Parten's social play categories [ 47 ], and Hestenes and Carroll [ 36 ] used a scan-sampling technique developed by Nabors [ 48 ]. A study by Smyth and Anderson [ 40 ] used the Psion Workabout computer using a detailed coding scheme developed in the Observer software system for coding [ 49 ].…”