Play Sequences: Teaching play skills to children

The above picture(s) represent a simple play sequence for children who have difficulty playing independently or using toys in flexible and novel ways. As discussed last night on my BlogTalkRadio Show, play sequences, at their most basic, teach a child how to play with something or someone.  

Why are they important? 

Because core skills like: the ability to imitate a variety of skills and engage in a sequence of play lays the foundation for the development of ALL other social and communication skills.  This is especially important for children on the Autism Spectrum, those with cognitive delays, sensory processing difficulties and definitely those with executive functioning delays. We must be teaching children, through play, how to navigate future learning opportunities. 

Play sequences are very easy to implement. In their most basic sense, you will want to follow these steps when making a sequence of your own:

1. Start with an amount of turns or items with which the child can be successful. {eg. Instead of expecting the child to do 5 play doh cookies, right out of the gate, do two}. 
2. Give a visual example either through pictures or {the best} by a partner running through the entire sequence first. 
3. Limit your verbal output. {meaning don't TALK your way through the sequence}. Keep speech to a minimum. Perhaps begin by saying "watch", "listen" or use the child's name. Upon ending say "you do" or "your turn." 
4. Have a clear place for the tools/materials and have ONLY the tools/materials needed to complete the play sequence.

Play sequences are not only for children with known difficulties. Ocasionally, a typically developing child has difficulty grasping the concept of playing with certain toys/materials. When this occurs, implement a play sequence and see them thrive!  

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing other play sequences with you {interspersed with my regular blog posts} so please check back often or better yet subscribe to my blog OR our newsletter {right hand side of the page}. 

As always, thanks for reading. 

Until next time...keeping helping your kiddos BLOOM!


Jen