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Diverse Population of Young Children with Autism: Play and Language

Friday, May 15, 2015: 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Imperial Ballroom (Grand America Hotel)
Y. C. Chang1,2, S. Y. Shire3, W. Shih4, H. Gould2 and C. Kasari5, (1)Charter College of Education, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, (2)Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, (3)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, (4)Department of Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, (5)UCLA Center for Autism Research & Treatment, Westwood, CA
Background: Studies have found that children with autism often display deficits in symbolic play skills where play is often rote and repetitive (Jarrold, Boucher, & Smith, 1993; Williams, Reddy, & Costall, 2001). Thus, researchers have targeted play skills in early intervention, finding increases in play skills that in addition have been found to be associated with gains in language development (Kasari, Paparella, Freeman, & Jahromi, 2008; Toth et al., 2006). However, most studies examining play skills in children with autism are limited by small sample sizes that lack ethnic and socio economic diversity.

Objectives: This study will extend the research by examining a more diverse sample of young children with autism and explore the relationship between language and types of spontaneous play skills. 

Methods: Participants included 507 young children (ages 2-5) with autism spectrum disorder and are of a diverse background (32.94% Caucasian, 23.27% Hispanic, 15.38% African American, 15.61% Other, and 12.03 Asian American,). All children were administered the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL; Mullen, 1989) to assess receptive and expressive language abilities. A composite score for language ability was created by averaging the mental age scores for receptive and expressive language subscales. Children were also administered the Structured Play Assessment (SPA; Ungerer & Sigman, 1981) to assess their play skills. Children’s spontaneous play behaviors including the number of different spontaneous novel play types were coded from videotaped SPAs by blind raters. Children’s highest level of spontaneous play attained was also measured. Highest level was defined as demonstration of at least two different types, each occurring at least five times per level. Play level ranged from 1 (indiscriminant play) to 16 (fantasy/ thematic play). This measure has shown excellent reliability and validity across a range of studies (Kasari et al. 2006; Sigman & Ruskin, 1999). 

Results: Bivariate correlations revealed that language abilities and play skills are significantly related. Higher language skills were associated with more spontaneous number and types of play acts within each play level: Simple play (r = .18, p < .01, r = .20, p < .01, respectively), Combination play (r = 0.40, p < .01, r = 0.37, p < .01, respectively), Presymbolic play (r = .46, p < .01, r = .50, p < .01, respectively) and symbolic play (r =0.48, p < .01, r =0.48, p < .01, respectively). Language abilities were also significantly correlated with attainment of highest level of play skill (r = .51, p< .01).

Conclusions: The results from the study demonstrate that within a diverse sample of children with autism, there were moderate relationships between language abilities and levels of play skills. Children demonstrated greater frequency and diversity of spontaneous play acts when they had higher language abilities. Additionally, children with higher language skills also achieved higher play levels. Similar to previous studies, this study suggests that children with autism can play symbolically. Future studies, particularly early intervention studies, should incorporate developmentally appropriate play to target and foster meaningful social communication, a core deficit, in children with autism.

See more of: Social Cognition and Social Behavior
See more of: Social Cognition and Social Behavior