Close Window
to Continue Shopping

Visit Main Bookstore
Using this Window

Picture a childhood void of the joyful images and sensations we associate with play - a childhood lacking in curiosity, diversity and symbolic meaning - a childhood without playmates or friends. Children on the autism spectrum are among those who face serious challenges learning how to play in both social and imaginative ways.

But no longer do these children have to remain lost souls on the fringes of playgrounds and other social gathering places. In Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination Pamela Wolfberg turns her award-winning research into a practical manual for practitioners and caregivers seeking to address the unique and complex challenges children on the autism spectrum experience. in peer relations and play.

This practical guide offers an introduction to the basic principles, tools and techniques that comprise the Integrated Play Groups model, designed to support children of diverse ages and abilities on the autism spectrum (novice players) in mutually enjoyed play experiences with typical peers and siblings (expert players). Small groups of children regularly play together under the guidance of an adult facilitator (play guide) through a carefully tailored system of support. The emphasis is on maximizing children's developmental potential as well as intrinsic desire to play, socialize and form meaningful relationships with peers. At the same time, an equally important focus is on teaching the peer group to be more accepting, responsive and inclusive of children who relate and play in different ways. This innovative book is full of forms, checklists and other tools to facilitate implementation.

What Parents and Professionals Are Saying

"The Integrated Play Groups (IPG) model draws on multiple theoretical perspectives, current research, and best practices to provide opportunities for children with autism to experience and learn within the culture of ALL children - play. This field manual provides abundant guidelines and details to implement the play groups in a variety of settings. This is a wonderful resource for families and professionals.

"Here is finally a book about developing social and imaginative play - not only play skills - in children with autism. Wolfberg beautifully lays out the importance of social and peer play in the lives of all children, and clearly and comprehen-sively describes the means to foster the development of social communication and play for children with autism. The descriptions of the steps involved are so clear and easy to follow and the resources provided are so rich and specific that the ease of implementing the IPG model hides the wealth of information and depth of experience that is distilled into this book."

"This is a wonderful user-friendly resource for parents and educators who understand that quality intervention for young children with autism must include play! Based on award-winning research, Pamela Wolfberg offers practical guidelines for developing Integrated Play Groups. Her assessment, hands-on activities and detailed strategies give us the tools we need to build fun and meaningful play opportunities. This book is another 'must have' on my short list of recommended resources."

PAMELA J. WOLFBERG, Ph.D., is co-founder of the Autism Institute on Peer Relations and Play-Center for Integrated Play Groups and adjunct faculty at San Francisco State University. She leads seminars for professionals and families throughout the United States and abroad, and is widely published in academic texts, peer-reviewed journals, and books. Her book Play and Imagination in Children with Autism is based on her doctoral dissertation, for which she received a distinguished award from the University of California, Berkeley.