Whilst many children learn how to play on their own, others may need the help of a Play Therapist to develop their play skills. Learn to Play is a practical intervention that teaches children how to pretend in play and aims to develop their enjoyment of pretend play. Learn to play helps children to develop complex play skills that form the basis for other important life skills such as problem solving, flexible thinking and social competence.
Pretend Play
Pretend play is the focus of Learn to Play Therapy as many children do not develop this ability to play for many different reasons. Pretend play involves the child's ability to understand the viewpoint of another, see beyond the literal use of objects, and impose meaning and stories within their play.
Who would benefit from Learn to Play therapy?
Learn to Play therapy was developed for children with developmental difficulties, including children with autism spectrum disorder, acquired brain injury, learning difficulties, language disorder and developmental issues that impact on language and social ability.
To benefit from Learn to Play Therapy children need to be developmentally at the 12-18 month level (particularly cognition) and have at least one meaningful word, gesture or focused attention on an activity that interests them.
During your child's first session, the play therapist will complete an assessment to inform your child's current ability and enjoyment in pretend play.
This will also help to inform the preparation for your child's next sessions.
The Play Therapist will then direct pre-arranged play activities during their weekly 30 minute sessions to help children develop and scaffold their play skills.
Throughout the intervention, the play activities will increase in complexity to scaffold new skills.
Some children may need to complete some Learn to Play sessions to develop their play skills before starting their individual Play Therapy sessions in order to develop the skills they need to play out their inner experiences.
To send us an enquiry, fill out the form below:
Click here to refer or request further information
