The relationship between play scores and communication skills measured in two ways was investigated in 19 young children with Down syndrome. When play competence, as observed in a play arena, was compared to mothers' perceptions of receptive and expressive communication skills, moderate and significant correlations were found. When play skills were compared to six language production measures, play was moderately and significantly correlated with only one measure, mean length of utterance in morphemes. Implications for these findings and for team assessments are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bateson, G. (1976). A theory of play and fantasy. In J. S. Bruner, A. Jolly, & K. Sylva (Eds.), Play&Its role in development and evolution (pp. 119–129). New York: Basic Books.
2.
Bayley, N. (1969). Bayley scales of infant development. New York: The Psychological Corp.
3.
Beeghly, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1987). An organizational approach to symbolic development in children with Down syndrome. New Directions for Child Development, 36, 5–29.
4.
Beeghly, M., Hanrahan, A., Weiss, B. W., & Cicchetti, D. (1985, April). Development of communication competence in children with Down syndrome. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Toronto.
5.
Belsky, J., & Most, R. K. (1981). From exploration to play: A cross-sectional study of infant free play behavior. Developmental Psychology, 17, 630–639.
6.
Bergen, D. (1987). Play as a medium for learning and development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
7.
Brown, R. (1973). A first language: The early stages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8.
Casby, M. W., & Ruder, K. F. (1983). Symbolic play and early language development in normal and mentally retarded children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 26, 404–411.
9.
Child Development Resources Training Center. (1992). Transdisciplinary arena assessment process viewing guide. Lightfoot, VA: Author.
10.
Cunningham, C. C., Glenn, S. M., Wilkinson, P., & Sloper, P. (1985). Mental ability, symbolic play and receptive and expressive language of young children with Down's syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26, 255–265.
11.
Fewell, R. R. (1986a). Play assessment scale (5th ed.). Unpublished manuscript. Seattle: University of Washington.
12.
Fewell, R. R. (1986b). Some new directions in the assessment and education of young handicapped children. In J. M. Berg (Ed.), Science and service in mental retardation (pp. 179–188). London: Methuen.
13.
Fewell, R. R., & Glick, M. P. (1993). Observing play: An appropriate process for learning and assessment. Infants and Young Children, 5(4), 35–-43.
14.
Fewell, R. R., Glick, M. P., & Spiker, D. (1994, June). The relationship between play and expressive language in low birth weight toddlers. Poster session presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Paris.
15.
Fewell, R. R., & Kaminski, R. (1988). Play skills development and instruction for young children with handicaps. In M. E. Lamb & M. B. Karnes (Eds.), Early intervention for infants and children with handicaps (pp. 145–158). Baltimore: Brookes.
16.
Fewell, R. R., & Langley, M. B. (1984). Developmental activities screening inventory-II. Austin: PRO-ED.
17.
Fewell, R. R., & Rich, J. S. (1987). Play assessment as a procedure for examining cognitive, communication and social skills in multihandicapped children. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 5, 107–118.
18.
Fewell, R. R., & Vadasy, P. F. (Eds.). (1983). Learning through play. Allen, TX: Developmental Learning Materials.
19.
Finn, D. M., & Fewell, R. R. (1994). The use of play assessment to examine communication skill development in children who are deaf-blind. Journal of Vision Impairment and Blindness, 88, 349–356.
20.
Glick, M. P. (1994). The validity of play assessment: Effects of treatment group and levels of maternal education on play scores. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Miami.
21.
Hill, P. M., & McCune-Nicolich, L. (1981). Pretend play and patterns of cognition in Down's syndrome children. Child Development, 52, 611–617.
22.
Largo, R. H., & Howard, J. A. (1979). Developmental progression in play behavior of children between 9 and 30 months: Spontaneous play and imitation. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 21, 299–310.
23.
LeNormand, M. T. (1986). A developmental exploration of language used to accompany symbolic play in young, normal children (2--4 years old). Child: Care, Health, and Development, 12, 121–134.
24.
Linder, T. W. (1993). Transdisciplinary play-based assessment: A functional approach to working with young children (Rev. ed.). Baltimore: Brookes.
25.
Lowe, M., & Costello, A. J. (1976). The symbolic play test. Berkshire, England: NFER-Nelson.
26.
McCormick, L., & Schiefelbusch, R. L. (1984). Early language intervention. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
27.
McCune, L. (1986). Play-language relationships: Implications for a theory of symbolic development. In M. E. Lamb & C. C. Brown (Eds.), Play interactions: The contribution of play materials and parental involvement to children's development (pp. 67–80). Lexington, MA: Heath.
28.
McCune-Nicolich, L. (1980). A manual for analyzing free play. New Brunswick, NJ: Douglass College, Rutgers University.
29.
McCune-Nicolich, L. (1981). Toward symbolic functioning: Structure of early pretend games and potential parallels with language. Child Development, 52, 785–797.
30.
McCune-Nicolich, L., & Bruskin, C. (1982). Combinatorial competency in symbolic play and language. In M. E. Lamb & K. Rubin (Eds.), The play of children: Current theory and research (pp. 30–45). Basel: Karger.
31.
Musselwhite, C. R. (1986). Adaptive play for special needs children. San Diego: College-Hill Press.
32.
Myers, C. L., McBride, S. L., & Peterson, C. A. (1996). Transdisciplinary, play-based assessment in early childhood special education: An examination of social validity. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 16, 102–126.
33.
Ogura, T. (1991). A longitudinal study of the relationship between early language development and play development. Journal of Child Language, 18, 273–294.
34.
Rogers, C. S., & Sawyers, J. K. (Eds.). (1988). Play in the lives of children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
35.
Rondal, J. A., & DeFays, D. (1978). Reliability of mean length of utterance as a function of sample size in early language development. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 133, 305–306.
36.
Sheridan, M. K., Foley, G. M., & Radlinski, S. H. (1995). Using the supportive play model. New York: Teachers College Press.
37.
Shimada, S. (1989, October). The relationship between symbolic play and expressive language in Down's syndrome children. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Japanese Educational Psychology, Sapporo, Japan.
38.
Shore, C., O'Connell, B., & Bates, E. (1984). First sentences in language and symbolic play. Developmental Psychology, 20, 872–880.
39.
Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A., & Cicchetti, D. V. (1984). Expanded form manual for Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
40.
Terman, L. M., & Merrill, M. A. (1973). Stanford-Binet intelligence scale: Manual for the third revision. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
41.
Teti, D. M., Bond, L. A., & Gibbs, E. D. (1988). Mothers, fathers, and siblings: A comparison of play styles and their influence upon infant cognitive level. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 11, 415–432.
42.
Vasta, R. (1979). Studying children: An introduction to research methods. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
43.
Westby, C. (1980). Assessment of cognitive and language abilities through play. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 11, 154–168.
