Extending Play
Using toys to support social
participation and
developmental progress
Let’s Play! Projects
University at Buffalo
Center for Assistive Technology
Susan Mistrett
mistrett@buffalo.edu
Website: http://letsplay.buffalo.edu
Let’s Play! Projects
• US Dept of Education funding since 1995
• Focus on play needs of families with children
with disabilities
• Provide research & education to parents,
caregivers and professionals who work with
these families
• Collaborate with play organizations + toy
manufacturers to design toys with Universal
Design features
How to Extend Play
1. Put the child in control
– Remove barriers to play
2. Encourage imagination & fantasy play
3. Plan for social interactions
4. Understand play stages
1. Put the child in control
• Begin where the child is
– where she is successful
– with what she likes
– for switch users, start with stationary or highly
reactive toys
• Maximize support (physical, cognitive +
language) to focus on PLAY! This is NOT
work!
• Show what to do; encourage interactions
• Follow the child’s lead; partner/audience
Simplify
• Remove distractions from the play area
before play begins. Turn off the TV,
remove clutter and provide good
lighting to decrease distractions from
play.
• Select 1-2 toys at a time. Place toys on
a contrasting color surface
– When playing with toys with multiple pieces
and colors, lay all the pieces on a solid
colored surface
Role of Play Materials
• Selection & use of toys is most critical
for early play success
• Encourage creative toy usage from
the beginning… How else can the toy
be used?
• Play gradually becomes more social;
role of toys diminish while use of
open-ended materials increase (e.g.
boxes, blocks).
2. Encourage imagination &
fantasy play
• Model + support new toy uses and
combinations other than intended
use
• Promote scenario play: library, store,
doctor
• Availability of props (including boxes,
spaces)
• Resource: Circle of Make Believe
3. Plan for Social
Interactions
• Social skills may be best indicator for long
term positive outcomes
• Social interaction is greater in integrated
settings, and social competence is further
enhanced when structured interactions are
in place (Jenkins et al., 1989)
• Plan for activity based opportunities
PALS structure +
Cooperative Learning
• Pair children
• Arrange adult
behavior
• Limit materials
• Structure the
activity
(Chandler, 1998)
CL play can include
“pairs of children
playing different
roles: blower + filler
and dumper with
buckets and chooser
and gluer with art
materials”.
(Johnson & Johnson, 1988;
Fad, Ross & Bosten, 1995)
Classroom Opportunities
• Large group activities
– Parachute popcorn
– Musical carpet squares with sharing
– Snack time passing, “what can it be”
pretzels
• Small group activities
– Play area for 3 MacDonald roles:
customer, cook, waitress
– Read to each other
– Roll a ball across the table for a friend
to catch
– Draw on a partner’s back
– Children with the same symbol help
each other to get ready to go outside,
play together on the computer, etc.
Make Play More Social
• Art: each child has 1 marker; all
need to make a rainbow
• 2 children have playdough; 2 children
have pizza + cookie cutters
• Trampoline: jump holding hands
• Push a friend on a swing
• Water play: push a boat back and forth
• Trucks: 1 dumps, the other fills
Tips For More Social Play
• Carefully plan activities; be aware of
materials and environments
• Put children in positions where they
can interact
• Tell the child what to say using
simple sentences
4. Understanding Play Stages
• Developmental stages; overlapping,
not discrete
• Guides “next steps”
• Toys guide play of early stages
• Play gradually becomes more socially
interactive from self to parallel play
to social play
What Is It?
Sensori-motor Play
• Child uses senses
to explore objects
+ people
• Undifferentiated
movements: bang,
mouth, push, retrieve
Exploring More
Child begins to
use one object
to interact with
another object
or surface with
more control
What to do…
• Encourage repetition • Provide a variety of
surfaces for new
• Understand child’s
sounds
preferences
• In/out play; offer
• Revisit sensory
cans,
bins,
a
barn
experiences
or castle
• Describe toys and
• Play games with
actions
tickles + touches
• Offer novel toys with
for anticipated
different feedback
results
(choices)
• Combine 2 toys for new action and
reaction!
Pom-Pom

Vibrating Pen
What Does It Do?
Functional Play
• Child explores a toy to
see how it “works”; it’s
design guides what to do
• Specific actions are
required
• Turn taking begins
• Single & multiple
actions are
required
• cause and effect
relationships are
established
• Toys with multiple pieces
• Other people take a larger
role
• Toys: musical
instruments, sand, water
tools; balls for rolling,
throwing, holding;
tunnels, slides, swings
What to do…
• Provide opportunities for child to find
objects that are hidden; things to knock
over, etc.
• Offer new combinations for new outcomes
• Provide activities to follow the child's lead;
drop & fetch, "singing", etc.
• Play peek-a-boo games
• Offer real-life items to mimic everyday life

Busy Box
Props as “Launchers”
Substitute
materials for
new response
How can ball
play change
here?
What Else Can I Do With It?
Pretend/Fantasy Play
• Carry out action plans, take
on roles, and transform
objects
• Child uses people + props to
imitate real life routines
• Child begins to use
materials with planning,
coordination and
problem solving ability
Constructive play begins to
include symbolic themes
What Can It Be?
• Child builds on
imitation experiences
to create new ones
• Toys:
– Theme environments
– Animals, community
helpers, dinosaurs,
vehicles
– Props become more
abstract
• Open ended materials
Denver – Jan, 2004
Wooden pizza
set + Space
Spinner
=
PIZZA
DELIVERY
What Can I Make?
• Child begins to combine
manipulation, creativity and
planning using a variety of
materials
• Materials: playdough, clay,
finger-paints
• Tools - cookie cutters,
brushes, markers
• Surfaces - plates, papers,
tables, sidewalks
Stories
• Begin with books with
photos of real people and
objects; cloth & board
books are easier to use
• Child incorporates stories
into fantasy play
What to do…
• Facilitate play with
emphatic language +
sound effects
• Use familiar scenarios
• Provide props – real life,
then imaginary
• Opportunities to create
• Use puppets and stories
What can it be?
How many different ways can you
use this toy?
Switch Toys
Beyond Cause + Effect
Using “switch” toys
• Start with reactive, “all in one”
switch toys
• Provide control with a single movement
– Good place to start
• Almost anything electronic can be used;
be creative!
– Provide battery interrupter to family
– Look for electronic games for group play!
– Add props + other toys
Extending Play with
Switch Interfaces
•Switch Latch
•Timers
•Random selection
•Communication devices
Play Scenarios
• Extend beyond cause and effect to
functional, pretend or creative play
– Why make toy go??? To the farm?
– For what purpose??? To save the pig!!
• Add Props, combine activities
Let’s look at a few…..
Where is the pig
going?
What can he carry?
Who will he meet?
What could
happen?
Add props to
plan a purpose
Puppets
make new
toys
What’s the plan?
Who is the driver now?
What might happen?
How can 2-3 children
play? What is the
game?
“Help, help!
Save my baby!”
What other toys
could be involved?
What could happen?
Set up
pretend
scenarios
Add language
“The bear is coming to play with you…”
Imagination is
more important
than knowledge
Albert Einstein
USING A FAVORITE TOY
We challenge you to describe different ways to use
your favorite toy out of the box and combined
with other toys and props for new purposes.
See if you can:
Put the child in control
Encourage imagination & fantasy play
Plan for social interactions
Reflect several play stages
Making the Most Out of Play
• Create a playful atmosphere; provide
materials which children can explore
and adapt in play.
• When play appears to be stuck or
unproductive, offer a new position or
toy, suggest new roles, or provide new
combined experiences
• Join the child in play
• Create play spaces
Creating Play Spaces
• Promote child choices
• Designate play areas
• Change/add items
for interest
• Provide flexible toys,
materials + props
 Are toys out and
available?
 Tents, rugs,
puppet show,
“environments”
 Novel + familiar
toys
 Combine toys, use
in different ways
AT/Play Resources
• Let’s Play! Projects website
http://letsplay.buffalo.edu FREE products!
• Synthesis on the Use of AT in EI (AIR)
http://www.air.org/techideas/reports.html
• ATA Center’s “We Can Play”
http://www.ataccess.org/resources/wcp/endefaul
t.html
• Fisher Price Play Stages
http://www.fisherprice.com/us/playtime/default_html.asp
• Toy Industry Association - Play Guidelines
• Lekotek
Questions?
Go Play!!