A Guide to Positive Play Experiences

At Autism Inclusive, we understand that play is more than just fun—it’s a gateway to learning, connection, and development for children of all abilities. Our Play Assessment framework helps identify the unique strengths, interests, and sensory needs of each child, providing a tailored approach to support their play skills at every developmental level. Here, we’ll explore how a targeted play-based approach can enhance social skills, reduce anxiety, and build essential developmental skills, with practical tools and strategies to empower both parents and educators. Children with Autism may have a scattered profile of development and therefore may show some skills across play levels. This takes carful observation and team discussion to develop the play goal that best meets the needs of  the individual child.

Why Play Matters

Play is critical in early childhood development, particularly for children with autism. It fosters:

• Skill Development: Play encourages language, motor, social, and sensory skills, laying the foundation for lifelong learning.

• Building Social Connections: Structured play introduces social norms, emotions, and turn-taking, gradually helping autistic children engage in social interactions.

• Reducing Anxiety and Stress: Predictable, sensory-friendly play environments offer a safe way for children to explore and adapt to new situations.

Understanding Play Challenges and Strengths

Children with autism may experience unique play challenges, such as a preference for repetitive play, limited symbolic play, or sensory sensitivities. However, these children often bring remarkable strengths to their play—intense focus on interests and creativity in non-traditional ways. By recognizing these challenges and strengths, we can develop a play plan that emphasizes positive experiences and achievable goals.

Setting Play Goals for Children with Autism

Our play-based goal matrix guides the development of individual goals that match each child’s play level. Here are key stages of play development, with tailored goals for children with autism:

1. Unoccupied Play: At this stage, children observe or engage in spontaneous movements. Goals focus on building eye contact, shared enjoyment, and simple turn-taking with sensory toys.

2. Solitary Play: Children focus on their own activities. Goals encourage longer periods of independent play and introduce visual supports to enhance engagement with sensory or preferred toys.

3. Onlooker Play: Children observe peers without joining in. Goals promote interest in others’ activities and begin incorporating simple cause-and-effect toys for turn-taking with visual and verbal supports.

4. Parallel Play: Children play alongside others with minimal interaction. Goals focus on playing next to peers, sharing materials, and using play sequences with visual support.

5. Associative Play: Interaction increases, with children sharing ideas or toys. Here, goals encourage shared pretend play scenarios and responsive communication with peers using structured play scenes.

6. Cooperative Play: Children work together in structured play with shared goals. Goals in this stage support role-based play, group problem-solving, and leadership skills.

   
   

It is critical when setting up play opportunities, that you have the right resources that target the child's play skills at their developmental level.  It is important to understand their sensory and communication skills so you can create a play experience that is tailored to their individual needs, and to ensure communication supports are prepared and integrated to facilitate new learning. 

Practical Resources for Play Support

We offer a range of resources to facilitate positive play experiences for children of all developmental levels:

• Sensory Play Boxes: Includes visual supports and choice boards to tailor sensory play activities.

• Play dough Kits: Step-by-step photo sequences guide children through creative play routines.

• Pretend Play Scenes: ie Beach, shopping at the supermarket, camping….with visual sequences and Aided Language Stimulation boards, these scenes encourage social connections and imagination.

• Obstacle Courses: Structured with visual supports to assist with turn-taking and waiting, encouraging successful participation through gross motor activities that are at the child’s skill level

  
  

Teaching New Skills: The Prompting Hierarchy

To support skill acquisition, we use a prompting hierarchy, from independent to full physical prompting, allowing children to gradually master each task. This hierarchy includes levels such as indirect prompting with hints, verbal and gestural cues, modeling, and physical guidance, gradually reducing support to foster independence.

Building a Play-Focused Individual Education Plan (IEP)

The Play Assessment informs Individual Education Plans (IEPs) by providing a holistic view of each child’s strengths, challenges, and developmental stage. IEPs incorporate insights from Play Assessment, Speech and Occupational therapy programs, focusing on developmentally appropriate rather than age-based targets. This individualized approach ensures that every child receives the support they need to thrive in their play and beyond.  With the overwhelming increase in NDIS Therapists supporting students in schools, it is important that all goals across therapy and education plans are integrated into the Individual education plan to ensure everyone is working of the same baseline of skills and goals that match them.  This also creates significant support for families who do not have to navigate multiple therapy and educational plans.

By tailoring play activities to each child’s unique profile, we foster positive play experiences that build confidence and joy. At Autism Inclusive, our goal is to empower families, educators, and therapists to create an environment where every child’s play is a pathway to learning, growth, and connection.