February 03, 2016
“Play is the work of the child.” This is the mantra of every child development expert from Montessori to Froebels, the inventor of kindergarten. Through play, children explore their physical and social world, try out new skills, discover their passions and exercise their brains while enjoying a fun activity of their own choosing and on their own terms.
The benefits of play are equally rich for every child, no matter his or her unique learning needs. Sometimes when a child is identified to have a learning disability, well-meaning parents and professionals become so focused on identifying the best therapies and classrooms that they overlook this basic need of every child: to explore, escape and express his- or herself through play.
As children develop, play progresses from simple sensory exploration to manipulative to imaginary play. Each stage exercises an increasingly sophisticated part of the brain beginning with basic visual and touch-processing circuits to motor, spatial, planning, social-emotional, memory and language pathways. Depending on the child, some of these skills will come more easily than others. It’s the role of parents and teachers to provide the right materials at the right time—toys and creative supplies that stretch a child just beyond her or his current level of skill and onto the next level.
For children with sensory processing differences, the answer may be to simplify their environment, providing just one plaything at a time, perhaps with a single type of texture or shape to avoid bombarding them with sensory input. Similarly, for children who feel challenged by social interactions, smaller playgroups are preferable. Let your child feel safe with just one or two other friendly playmates to best tutor his or her verbal and nonverbal interaction skills.
Of course, every child is different, so it’s difficult to generalize about the needs of any particular “type” of child. But a general rule of thumb is to find playthings and playmates that exercise each type of skill (physical, dramatic, language, building, art and music) at just the right level of challenge. The goal is to develop a well-rounded, well-socialized child, so an inclusionary approach should be used whenever possible.
The benefits of play are equally rich for every child, no matter his or her unique learning needs. Sometimes when a child is identified to have a learning disability, well-meaning parents and professionals become so focused on identifying the best therapies and classrooms that they overlook this basic need of every child: to explore, escape and express his- or herself through play.
As children develop, play progresses from simple sensory exploration to manipulative to imaginary play. Each stage exercises an increasingly sophisticated part of the brain beginning with basic visual and touch-processing circuits to motor, spatial, planning, social-emotional, memory and language pathways. Depending on the child, some of these skills will come more easily than others. It’s the role of parents and teachers to provide the right materials at the right time—toys and creative supplies that stretch a child just beyond her or his current level of skill and onto the next level.
For children with sensory processing differences, the answer may be to simplify their environment, providing just one plaything at a time, perhaps with a single type of texture or shape to avoid bombarding them with sensory input. Similarly, for children who feel challenged by social interactions, smaller playgroups are preferable. Let your child feel safe with just one or two other friendly playmates to best tutor his or her verbal and nonverbal interaction skills.
Of course, every child is different, so it’s difficult to generalize about the needs of any particular “type” of child. But a general rule of thumb is to find playthings and playmates that exercise each type of skill (physical, dramatic, language, building, art and music) at just the right level of challenge. The goal is to develop a well-rounded, well-socialized child, so an inclusionary approach should be used whenever possible.
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