Autism and Play

 30.00 200.00

with MAQQI, Subject Matter Expert at AUsome Training
duration 2h 30m    |   for parents, educators and therapists for younger Autistics

All too often the play of Autistic children is defined as inappropriate or, worse, as dysfunctional.

In this fresh, empowering discussion of the ways Autistics play, MAQQI upends that narrative showing Autistic kids as curious, creative, smart and very capable… and in the process provides those caring for and working with them the insights to appreciate and engage in new ways.

What emerges is a picture of smart, adaptive, functional human minds at work in a context of chronic adversity that describes and explains, but also points to opportunities for caregivers and educators to leverage this new understanding and better support Autistics in their care.

Once you complete this on-demand course you will receive a certificate of completion. Please ensure you enter your name correctly as the name you enter will appear on your certificate. If using this course for a group training please enter the name of the organisation as only one certificate will be provided. If you require additional certificates please email us and we will provide them to you. Individual certs incur an administrative fee of €5 per cert.

Description

Autistic Play

Play is often seen as the quintessential childhood activity, something that all children do. This has made play a prominent aspect of how Autistic children present – we hear about ‘inappropriate play’ and ‘parallel play,’ lack of interest in play and solitary play, how Autistic children ‘fail’ to engage in cooperative and competitive play, and so on.

Such concerns, however, rely on a one-dimensional smooth, linear concept of childhood development and of forms of play, and assume an ‘all else being equal’ context. Development is not linear, it stops and starts and changes pace (and direction), and for Autistics, ‘all else’ most definitely is not equal, thus confounding expectations and leading to misunderstandings of both the motivation and utility of Autistic patterns of play and development.

We examine what play is for, how it works, and how differences in play observed in Autistics point to early-life obstacles, Autistic resourcefulness, and, viewing play as an aspect of overall development, how those differences reflect differences in the pattern and sequencing of development in Autistic children.

Play does not stop with the end of childhood, of course, and we will also consider how these same differences are reflected in the form play takes through adulthood.

This discussion uses an Extended Self model and the Opportunity-Ability-Inclination triad from CDF (see below) to map out an understanding of Autistic play and it’s functionality. MAQQI also draws on the Double Empathy Problem theory of communication as a key constraint and risk factor.

What emerges is a picture of smart, adaptive, functional human minds at work in a context of chronic adversity that describes and explains, but also points to opportunities for caregivers and educators to leverage their understanding to better support Autistics in their care.

About MAQQI

MAQQI has several decades’ experience working with Autistic and otherwise Neurodivergent children, adolescents and adults. They have, as part of their work building the Convergent-Divergent Feedback model (CDF model) of Autistic living drawn on their experiences and those of the people they have worked with as well as a diverse range of research work. Early childhood development, meaning drawn from sensory experiences, and theories of play are integral to CDF, making this webinar an important foundation to understanding their work as a theorist.

Additional information

License type

Individual Use, Group Training

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