Let’s talk about play skills!
We mentioned in one of our previous blog posts that play skills are important for your child’s language development. Play skills are highly correlated to language development because children learn through their experiences and by observing others; they learn through play. If your child has difficulty demonstrating age-appropriate play skills, it is likely that he/she may have difficulty communicating non-verbally (e.g., gestures) and/or verbally. Play skills come in all shapes and sizes, so we’re going to break down a few categories of important play skills below:
Functional play skills
Children demonstrate functional play skills when they consistently use toys as they are meant to be used, such as feeding someone with a fork or bouncing a ball. Functional play assists in the development of children’s problem solving skills. It also assists in their ability to identify and classify objects and actions as well as develop age-appropriate interactions with others.
Relational play skills
Children demonstrate relational play skills when they are able to use two objects together in play, for example, putting a blanket on a doll or placing an action figure on a block. Relational play skills assist in the understanding of relationships between objects and object function.
Play schemas
Children who demonstrate play schemas successfully use imaginative play with toys in repetitive patterns. For example, a child who is using a play schema will repetitively fill up a bucket with dirt and move it from one area of the backyard to another. Play schemas allow children to understand the world around them and give meaning to their actions and experiences.
Symbolic play
Children demonstrate symbolic play skills when they use an object to represent or symbolize another object or idea. For example: using a banana as a telephone or rolling a block back and forth as if it were a car. Symbolic play is a more advanced play skill as it involves the flexible use of objects, therefore, allowing for flexible thinking and reasoning. As a result, symbolic play skills assist in developing children's abilities to relate to narratives beyond their physical environment.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive; however, these are the main skills that speech pathologists look for when they evaluate children under the age of 3 or 4.
The best way to assist your child with play skills is to follow his/her lead in play. It is important that you become an observer of his/her play. Instead of directing his/her play (e.g., “Look!” Feed the baby!), you can guide your child in play (e.g., Saying “The baby is hungry” as you feed the baby). If your child demonstrates difficulty pretending to stir with a bowl and spoon, you can either show him/her by modeling the skills yourself or by placing your hands over his/hers to complete the action; however, it is important that you do not verbally tell your child what to do in play.
If you notice that your child has difficulty appropriately using toys, a speech language pathologist can help you navigate how to help him/her. Your speech pathologist will show you how to model for your child, how to follow his/her lead, and how to teach your child different kinds of play.
We provide online speech therapy to assist your child with their development. Contact us today.