Book Reviews

PEER PLAY AND THE AUTISM SPECTRUM:
The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination
by Pamela J. Wolfberg (May/June 03)

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 mutual 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.
Jane R. Wegner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, director, Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic,
Intercampus Program in Communicative Disorders, University of Kansas

"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."
Mimi W. Lou, Ph.D., clinical director, Children's Hospital Autism Intervention (CHAI),
Children's Hospital & Research Center, Oakland, California

"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."
Kathleen Quill, Ph.D., Autism Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

Sneak Preview

Watching children play generates feelings of delight and endearment in most of us. As we consider the origins of such feelings, we may touch upon memories of our own play in childhood. Many of us will picture a special playmate, a favorite plaything, a secret place and precious time when nothing else mattered but the world of make-believe we created in our minds as well as with friends. Some of us may even long to go back in time to recapture those seemingly endless moments of pure pleasure and well-being.

Now 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. Many of us may be aware of children who do not naturally play and socialize in typical ways - children who appear confused, distracted or uninterested in the company of peers. We may even feel uncomfortable observing their seemingly aimless repetitive motions or preoccupations with particular objects or themes. Because of the unusual ways in which these children express themselves in play, they may be perceived by peers as outsiders - lost souls on the fringes of playgrounds and other social gathering places.

Over the years, my colleagues and I have had the opportunity to observer countless children in a variety of social and cultural settings. While watching children who are given free reign to play and socialize with one another, we can easily detect who is thriving and who is at risk as they face serious challenges learning how to play in both social and imaginative ways.

Autism is a complex condition that impedes children's spontaneous development of reciprocal social interaction, communication, play and imagination. Defining features of autism include a "lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play" as well as a "failure to develop peer relationships" appropriate to developmental level (American Psychiatric Association 2000). Many children on the autism spectrum (including children with Asperger Syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder) spend inordinate amounts of time alone pursuing repetitive and unimaginative activities. Without appropriate intervention, they are especially vulnerable to being excluded from their peer group and leading impoverished play lives.

Play's significance is far-reaching as a social and cultural context through which children acquire symbolic capacities, interpersonal skills and social knowledge (Vygotsky, 1966, 1978). Moreover, peers perform a distinct role in play by fostering opportunities for learning and development that cannot be duplicated by adults (Hartup, 1979, 1983; Wolfberg et al., 1999). Through shared experiences in play children acquire many interrelated skills that are necessary for attaining social competence and forming meaningful friendships. Particularly within a social pretend framework, children practice and assimilate these skills while exercising their imaginative potential. Children on the autism spectrum are highly unlikely to reap the benefits of play under the same conditions as typical children.

ABOUT THIS FIELD MANUAL
Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination is a field manual for practitioners and caregivers seeking to address the unique and complex challenges children on the autism spectrum experience in their peer relations and play. This practical guide offers an introduction to the basic principles, tools and techniques that comprise the Integrated Play Groups model.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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 (Teachers College Press, 1999) is based on her doctoral dissertation, for which she received a distinguished award from the University of California, Berkeley.