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PubMed2006

Language play in children with autism spectrum disorders: implications for practice.

The purpose of this article is to present evidence for the use of language play by children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) within the context of play with peers. A conceptual framework for the development of language play is described. This framework, which is supported by the literature on language play in typically developing children, is used to assess patterns of language play in children with ASD. The findings of a descriptive study are used to provide evidence for language play in the speech of children with ASD during interactions with typical peers and show that children with ASD use language play in a similar way as their typically developing peers with the exception of age of occurrence. Implications for clinicians in their work with children with ASD are discussed as they relate to the existence of language play in children with ASD and the function of language play as a tool for language learning.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1994

[The "familiarity" variable in maternal role playing in preschool children].

The present investigation was effected in the context of several other studies involving mother role playing with dolls in children of both sexes aged 2 to 6. Previous studies had shown an interaction between several variables: sex of the child and of the doll, absence of toys representing maternal activities, naked or clothed dolls, playing in couples of same sex or different sexes. The present study involves a new factor: degree of familiarity between children. Three variables can be distinguished in the analysis of couples of friends: (1) exploratory activities of the body of the dolls: smaller children (boys and girls) explore the body for itself whereas older girls do it while assuming a maternal role and older boys take distance from this activity. (2) Involvement in mother role playing: girls are more involved than boys, older children have richer activities than the younger. (3) Choice of activity (mother role playing or other). Observation of activities in non-friends couples emphasize two factors. The first is the same as in couples of friends (exploration of the body of the dolls), the second being the emotional tone of play sessions. Children of both sexes are diversely tolerant of the non-friends situation. This has an important impact on the quality of playing and therefore on representations of playing and on identification behaviors. Analysis of this last factor in the context of the other findings on mother role playing suggests an evolution of mother role playing behaviors and leads to reformulate the parameters involved in the construction of representations of parental roles.

Child↗
PubMed2003

Leaf-pile pulling: an unusual play pattern in wild chimpanzees.

Play in nonhuman animals has generally been viewed as being uniform among study sites. No studies have examined whether there are local variations in play. In this work we report an apparently locality-specific form of play that is basically solo locomotor play, but also has aspects of object play and social play. We describe this unusual "leaf-pile pulling" (LPL) pattern based on video footage of the chimpanzees of Mahale, Tanzania. Typically, when a party of chimpanzees moves in a procession down a slope in the dry season, a youngster will turn around and walk backward while raking many dry leaves with both hands. This activity accumulates many dry leaves while producing a lot of sound. After the player walks 1-15 m, he/she either turns around and walks forward or moves in a somersaulting fashion. The performer usually faces an individual that is immediately following him/her in the procession. The age of the performers ranges from 2 to 22 years, but 3-10 years are most typical. Compared to younger (< 8 years) individuals, older (> or = 8 years) individuals tend to cover longer distances during play, and to be more likely to play only on sloped surfaces and during travel. One of the authors (W.W.) has only seen the behavior exhibited by five different individuals on 10-15 occasions at Gombe. The behavior is exhibited less often at Gombe than at Mahale. To date, LPL has not been reported elsewhere. The absence of LPL at other sites may or may not be explained by environmental differences, such as differences in the availability of dead leaves and sloped terrain. Although the possibility that LPL is acquired by individual learning cannot be completely ruled out, the hypothesis that it is a tradition of the Mahale study group is more likely. This suggests that play may warrant more careful consideration in studies of nonhuman primate culture.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Sex differences in play among western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) infants: implications for adult behavior and social structure.

Mammalian play is believed to improve motor skills as well as facilitate the development of social relationships. Given the marked sexual dimorphism in gorilla body size and the role assumed by the male in protecting the group from conspecifics and predators, the motor-training hypothesis of play predicts that male infants should exhibit higher frequencies of social play than female infants, and that males should prefer to play with other males. Given that adult female gorillas are strongly attracted to adult breeding males and form only weak social bonds with unrelated adult females, the social-relationship hypothesis of play predicts that female infants should prefer to play with males. These hypotheses were tested in a 22-month study of 12 gorilla infants, aged between 0-5 years, living in three zoological parks in Chicago and Atlanta. Consistent with the hypotheses, male infants played more than female infants did, and both male and female infants preferred to play with males rather than with females. These findings suggest that sex differences in play in the great apes and other primates can be predicted by the characteristics of adult behavior and social structure above and beyond the patterns of sex-biased dispersal or coalition formation with same-sex kin.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Exploration and play with objects in domestic kittens.

The responses of 12 kittens to unfamiliar and familiar objects was tested. Four categories of behavior were measured: exploration, play-exploration, play, and non-manipulatory contact. The results indicated that exploration and play-exploration were used for longer durations with unfamiliar objects and play was used for longer durations with familiar objects. Rank-order correlations between the measures showed that objects explored were not correlated with objects played with or play-explored. Analyses of the rankings revealed that small size and mobility were important object properties of play. The results suggest that exploration involves learning about stimulus properties, play-exploration involves learning about perceptual-motor properties, and play involves learning to coordinate movements with those of moving objects.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Play profiles of captive adult orangutans: a developmental perspective.

The social play of 6 adult orangutan heterosexual dyads was observed, and the frequencies of the component behaviors extracted. Frequencies were converted to proportions of total play outputs for each individual and for each age/sex class, and then compared to the proportions observed for the social play of juvenile and adolescent orangutans. Adult play was more stationary, and contact maintaining, in style than was the play of younger orangutans. For the females, rolling and grabbing comprised similar proportions of the play repertoires, whereas for males, slapping and biting were developmentally consistent. For adult males, little chasing was observed, although this behavior was prominant in the play of immature males. These developmental changes in orangutan social play are addressed with respect to the natural history and ecology of orangutans, the refinement of communication skills, and the influences of captivity on social play.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Idazoxan increases rough-and-tumble play, activity and exploration in juvenile rats.

The effects of idazoxan, an alpha-2 noradrenergic antagonist, on play and open field behavior were assessed in juvenile rats. Play was assessed in two separate paradigms. Initially, juvenile rats were housed individually and given a daily 5 min opportunity to play with a responsive partner. Idazoxan (1-8 mg/kg) increased pinning, an indicator variable of play, but did not affect the frequency of dorsal contacts, an index of play solicitation. When rats were tested in a separate test for play solicitation using an unresponsive play partner, idazoxan increased all three measures of play solicitation. Idazoxan increased activity and exploration when rats were tested in an open field, suggesting that the effects of idazoxan on play may be due to an increase in behavioral arousal and/or attention. These data are consistent with a modulatory role for norepinephrine in the control of behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Mu- and kappa-opioid receptor-mediated opioid effects on social play in juvenile rats.

Previously, morphine has been shown to influence social play behavior in rats on two levels. An increasing effect on social play was interpreted as an effect on the rewarding aspects of social play. A lower dose of morphine abolished the effects of an unfamiliar environment on social play, supposedly by affecting the integration of environmental stimuli. In the present study the effects of receptor-specific opioid drugs on social play and measures of social behavior unrelated to play were investigated. Fentanyl, a mu-opioid receptor agonist, seemingly mimicked both effects of morphine. The mu-opioid receptor antagonist, beta-funaltrexamine, decreased social play, although a low dose of this drug increased it. BUBUC (Tyr-D-Cys(StBu)-Gly-Phe-Leu-Thr(OtBu)) and naltrindole, a delta-opioid receptor agonist and delta-opioid receptor antagonist, respectively, had no effects on social behavior. The kappa-opioid receptor agonist, U50,488H (trans-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]- benzeneacetamide), dose dependently suppressed all measures of social behavior. The kappa-opioid receptor antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine, abolished the effect of an unfamiliar environment on social play. These studies suggest that the opioidergic effect on social play is mediated through mu- and kappa-opioid receptor systems.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Sequential analysis of social play behavior in juvenile rats: effects of morphine.

The effects of morphine on social play behavior in juvenile rats were investigated using sequential analysis. Social play behavior of 21-day-old rats treated with 1.0 mg/kg of morphine or saline was analyzed for 15 min. Frequencies and durations of measures of social play behavior, such as pinning, boxing/wrestling and following/chasing were significantly increased after treatment with morphine. Social behaviors not related to play, such as social exploration and crawling over/under were slightly decreased, while social grooming and non-social behavior were not affected by morphine treatment. Using sequential analysis, the dissociation between social behaviors related and unrelated to play was confirmed. Pinning and boxing/wrestling were highly significantly associated. In addition, crawling over/under significantly often preceded social grooming, and an association between social exploration and non-social behavior was found as well. Pinning and boxing/wrestling appeared to be negatively associated with non-social behaviors, social exploration and crawling over/under. A negative association between social grooming and social exploration was also found. Upon treatment with morphine, no major effects on the sequential structure of social behavior were observed: pinning and boxing/wrestling appeared more associated with following/chasing, and the negative association between pinning and boxing/wrestling on the one hand and social exploration on the other was enhanced. Thus, morphine slightly increased the coherence of social play behavior. It is concluded that morphine exerts its effects on social play behavior by increasing social play behavior as a whole rather than by changing its structure, suggesting a key role for opioid systems in the regulation of social play behavior.

Aggression↗
PubMed2006

Psychometric characteristics of role-play assessments of social skill in schizophrenia.

There is an extensive literature documenting that people with schizophrenia have marked impairments in social role functioning and social skill. One of the most widely employed strategies for assessing social skill has been role-play tests: simulated social interactions that are videotaped for subsequent behavioral coding. There has been considerable discussion of the validity of the approach in the literature, but there has not been adequate consideration of other psychometric characteristics of role-play tests. This paper examines the psychometric characteristics of a representative role-play measure: the Maryland Assessment of Social Competence (MASC). Data from 5 large schizophrenia studies that included the MASC were examined: a study of victimization in women who abuse drugs, a study of health care among people with diabetes, a study of vocational outcomes, a study of social skill among drug abusers, and a clinical trial comparing two antipsychotic medications. Data were examined in terms of five questions: (1) Can role-play scenes be rated reliably? (2) How are role-play ratings distributed across populations? (3) How many and which behaviors should be rated? (4) How many role-play scenes are required? (5) Is role-play behavior temporally stable? Overall, the data suggest that the MASC, and by implication other similar role-play procedures, does have good psychometric properties. However, several things often taken for granted in the literature warrant careful consideration in the design of research using role-play. Implications of the results for design of research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Play fighting of rats in comparative perspective: a schema for neurobehavioral analyses.

Play fighting is a commonly reported form of play in the young of many mammals. Most of the studies on the neurobehavioral mechanisms regulating this behavior have focused on the laboratory rat. The rationale for doing so has been primarily on practical grounds. This paper seeks to answer the question. "How good is the rat as a model of mammalian play fighting?" A review of the detailed structure of play fighting in rats and other mammals reveals that play fighting is not a unitary activity, but rather has distinct components with each having distinct regulatory mechanisms. The rat is typical of many other mammals for some features of play fighting, but not others. Therefore, two conclusions are drawn from this review. First, given that play fighting is a composite category of behavior, questions regarding its underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms need to be narrowly constructed, so as to deal with highly specific mechanisms. For example, what mechanism regulates the pubertal decline in play fighting? Second, the rat is shown to be a good model species for the study of some features of play fighting, but it cannot be assumed to represent an "average" mammal for all features.

Aggression↗
PubMed1999

Developmental brain injury associated with abnormal play behavior in neonatally Borna disease virus-infected Lewis rats: a model of autism.

Play behavior, nonsocial exploratory activity, and nonplay social interaction were observed in male juvenile Lewis rats with brain developmental injury following neonatal infection with Borna disease virus (BDV). These behaviors were tested using the 'intruder-resident' paradigm, with social isolation of residents for six days prior to testing. Four experimental pairings of infected (BDV) and uninfected (NL) rats were studied as follows: NL-NL; NL BDV; BDV NL; and BDV-BDV (the first member is the resident, the second member is the intruder). Observation of social activities was carried out for 10 min on two consecutive days. Nonsocial exploratory activity (e.g. ambulation and rearing) was similar in BDV and NL residents. Duration of nonplay social investigation (e.g. sniffing, approach, and follow) was higher in BDV residents as compared to NL residents when tested on the first test day. On the second day, all rats showed similar level of nonplay social interaction. When confronted with NL intruders, NL residents exhibited significantly more play behavior compared to the NL-BDV, BDV NL and BDV-BDV pairs, when play behavior was measured by the number of 'pins'. Moreover, irrespective of a type of intruder, NL residents demonstrated higher play soliciting behavior than BDV residents, indicating attenuated readiness to play in BDV-infected rats. The number of pins and play solicitations in BDV-NL pairs significantly increased over the two days of testing, while play activity in NL-BDV pairs declined on the second test day. This pattern suggests that the degree of social reinforcement on the first day of testing affected the level of play on the second day. These data demonstrate deficits in play behavior and other social interactions following BDV-associated developmental brain injury, thus supporting the value of the neonatally BDV-infected rat as an animal model of autism.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Symbolic play in congenitally blind children.

There is controversy over the existence and nature of blind children's limitations in symbolic play. In this study we tested 13 5- to 9-year-old congenitally blind children for the ability to symbolize when an adult provided scaffolding for their play. The blind children were selected on the basis that they did not have the syndrome of autism, and they comprised two groups matched for age (MA) and verbal ability on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children who contrasted in their ability to engage in social relations. We also tested a group of sighted children who were MA matched with the more socially able blind children. On the basis of an hypothesis about the social-developmental sources of symbolic play deficits in congenitally blind children, we predicted differences between the socially able and socially impaired groups of blind children in the following respects: the attribution of symbolic meanings to play materials, the ascription of individual roles to play figures, and the anchorage of play in the scenario as presented by the adult. The results accorded with these predictions. Whereas the more socially able blind children showed symbolic play that was very similar to that of sighted children, the MA- and IQ-matched socially impaired blind children were limited in the three aspects of their play. On the other hand, even the socially impaired children showed instances of symbolizing. The findings suggest a way to reconcile conflicting reports of symbolic play deficits in young blind children, and may be relevant for explaining the association between autism and congenital blindness.

Affect↗
PubMed2001

Taking a closer look at functional play in children with autism.

Research evidence indicates that children with autism may experience problems with functional play, in addition to their well-documented deficits in symbolic play. However, as a result of the tendency of previous studies to group all functional play into a single category, the precise nature and extent of this deficit remains unclear. The present study undertook a more refined analysis of such play, subtyping the functional acts into various categories, in terms of the developmental progression suggested by research with typical infants. The functional play of children with autism was compared to that of developmentally matched children with Down syndrome and typical infants. Although there were no group differences in overall measures of the proportion of total play time spent in functional play and in the number of functional acts performed, a closer analysis of the composition of this play did reveal striking, qualitative differences. The functional play of the autism group was less elaborated, less varied, and less integrated than that of the controls. The implications of these findings are explored in relation to current theoretical models of autism and in relation to the role of other people in mediating the appropriate use of objects.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

Sex differences in play fighting revisited: traditional and nontraditional mechanisms of sexual differentiation in rats.

In the traditional model for sexual differentiation in mammals, the female phenotype is the default condition. That is, the female-typical pattern will persist unless acted upon by hormones early in development. The frequency of play fighting in rats, as in most other mammals, is sexually differentiated, and conforms to the traditional model. Males engage in more play fighting than females, and this can be reduced to female-typical levels by neonatal castration. Furthermore, females can be induced to play fight at male-typical levels if treated with testosterone neonatally. Fractionation of play fighting into its constituent components, attack and defense, reveals that it is the frequency of attack that is sexually differentiated, not the likelihood of defense. However, in males, defensive behavior changes at puberty so that the play becomes "rougher." For males to switch to this rougher form of play fighting, they have to be androgenized perinatally. Hence, for males, this second aspect of play fighting that is sexually differentiated also follows the traditional model. In marked contrast, development of the female-typical pattern does not. Neonatal treatment of females with testosterone has no effect; at puberty, they still show the female-typical pattern. On the the other hand, ovariectomy, either at birth or at weaning, leads to females exhibiting the male-typical transition to rougher play fighting at puberty. That is, ovarian hormones appear to actively inhibit the expression of a male-typical trait in females. Play fighting, then, is a mixture of traits, with some features conforming to the traditional model and some not. For some phenotypic features, ovarian hormones appear to exert an active role in their development.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of an energy and micronutrient supplement on play behavior in undernourished children in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports the effects of an energy and micronutrient supplementation on quantitative and qualitative aspects of play among poorly nourished children. At issue is whether the supplement led to a progression in complexity of play. DESIGN: Two cohorts of children were randomly assigned to three treatments: E = 1171 kJ + 12 mg iron; M = 12 mg iron + 209 kJ; S = 104 kJ. Supplementation was given for 6 months. Evaluations of play behavior were repeated four times. SETTING: The sites were six tea plantations in Pangalengan, West Java. SUBJECTS: The present study utilized a subsample of 55 children recruited for the larger Pangalengan project 6 months into the study. Thirty-eight children were recruited late enough to allow for longitudinal observations. The remaining cases were used for cross sectional observations only. Inclusion criteria were: no chronic disease; length-for-age < or = -1 standard deviation (s.d.) and weight-for-length between -1 and -2 s.d. of the median of the reference of the World Health Organization. METHODS: The children were videotaped during play. These tapes were coded for eight mutually exclusive categories of activities. Four activities coded represented manipulative, relational, functional and symbolic play. RESULTS: Treatment did not affect qualitative play. Girls that received E increased functional play but boys showed the opposite effect. Children in the S group were breastfed more during play as compared to the E group. Children in the E group waited less to begin play.

Brain↗
PubMed1993

Are individual differences in fantasy play related to peer acceptance levels?

Individual differences in fantasy play, as they relate to cognitive competence and peer acceptance, were examined in a sample of 66 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years. Each child's free-play behaviors were videotaped and then coded for frequency of fantasy play and nonfantasy play, as well as for the unreality level and unfamiliarity level of the fantasy play. Solitary play was rarely observed; therefore all play measures that were coded were social (i.e., play involving at least one partner). Cognitive competence measures included self-ratings and teacher ratings of academic skills. Peer acceptance measures included self-ratings and teacher ratings of friendships and social activities. Results showed that high-fantasy players had higher self-ratings of peer acceptance than did average-fantasy players. High-fantasy players, however, had lower teacher ratings of peer acceptance than did average-fantasy players. These differential relations could be related to an inability on the part of high-fantasy players to distinguish imagined popularity from actual peer acceptance levels. Future research is recommended to provide more detailed characterizations of individual differences in fantasy play and how they relate to outcomes in the social, cognitive, and affective domains.

Affect↗
PubMed2004

The role of joint attention in the development of infants' play with objects.

Year-old infants' play was scored within and outside joint attention with mother and when alone for four levels of maturity: stereotypical, inappropriate relational, appropriate relational, functional. Maternal sensitivity within joint attention was rated on two measures: following infants' interests and scaffolding infants' activities. Infants' play was more advanced with mother than when alone. With mother, infants had more functional and appropriate relational play within joint attention and more stereotypical play outside joint attention, indicating more advanced play within joint attention and more immature play outside joint attention. Functional play within joint attention, but not outside joint attention, correlated with functional play when alone. Mothers' ability to scaffold infants' activities within joint attention may be particularly facilitative to infants' advanced play.

Adult↗