Spontaneous play in children with autism: A reappraisal

Much controversy remains regarding the ability of children with autism to e ngage in spontaneous play. In this study children with autism, Down syndrom e and typical development with verbal mental ages of approximately 2 years were assessed for play abilities at three data points. Even in this group o f children with autism, who had relatively low verbal mental ages, symbolic play skills were not totally absent. However, it was possible to distingui sh their pattern of play behaviors from the other mio groups. Consequential ly, it is argued that there are unusual features in early spontaneous play in children with autism and these atypical patterns are not restricted to t heir difficulties in the production of symbolic play. Such differences in e arly spontaneous play raise interesting questions about the etiology of aut ism, the direction of future research, and the theoretical models that can account for the condition.