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Your AIM This Week:
Playfulness
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There has been a great divide between behavior therapies and play therapies, historically in the field of autism therapy.
But this is changing quickly, as behaviorists realize the power of playfulness (not just tangible reinforcers) to motivate children!
Behavior therapy has been the leader in defining clear learning goals, designing structured lessons and materials, and using repetition until a skill has been mastered.
Play therapists are trained and specialize in building rapport, increasing social motivation, and creating opportunities for reciprocity and collaborative learning.
But the gap between these two therapies is shrinking as more and more therapists realize they don’t have to choose between goal-oriented and play-based approaches. It’s possible to have both!
My Integrated Multi-Disciplary Approach leverages the best-practice of both behavior science and play-therapy.
One thing I’ve seen over 25 years of working directly with autistic children is that being playful engages almost any child any day with any activity!
If you struggle to motivate your child or a student to learn: Playfulness is a motivation short-cut!
How can you be more playful?
1. It's all in your mind!
Playfulness is an attitude, and play is the outcome action.
Start with playful thoughts. Literally pause what you are doing, close your eyes if it helps you to concentrate for a few seconds, and imagine a really fun game you used to play as a kid. Maybe it was tag, or hoola-hoop, or singing with a pretend microphone in front of the mirror. Let the smile of this memory grow on your face. You did it! Now you’re in a playful mood!
2. Use a prop
I sometimes find that I can give myself more permission to be silly and playful like a kid when I am in a costume…like my clown outfit in the video you saw… or by talking through a hand-puppet… or using a funny voice different from my usual parenting/ teacher voice.
Find some props that let yourself feel and act more playful.
3. Don’t get it right!
Play is not about getting it right. It’s about having fun. Spend 5 -10 minutes today with your child with only a single priority: to enjoy yourself.
Suspend any other learning goals. Hang your parenting hat up for 5 minutes. Don’t correct their behavior; Don’t try to teach your child a single thing; Just simply enjoy yourself.
It’s so easy to get serious about doing an activity correctly, and this seriousness gets in the way of being playful. This week, prioritize playfulness.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Have FUN!
Jonathan Alderson
Autism Expert
Founder, ThriveGuide
Author, Challenging the Myths of Autism
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Created by Autism Specialist.
Jonathan Alderson, Ed. M., draws on 25+ years of supporting autistic children.
Completely free resource.
No strings attached. Just a way for us to support as many families as possible.
Completely free resource.
No strings attached. Just a way for us to support as many families as possible.
Created by Autism Specialist.
Jonathan Alderson, Ed. M., draws on 25+ years of supporting autistic children.