Increasing simple toy play in profoundly mentally handicapped children. I: training to play

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to increase simple toy play in profoundly mentally handicapped children. Twenty children (mean chronological age, 14 years; mean mental age, less than 1 year) were trained to play with ordinary toys, half by a behavior modification technique and half by a control procedure. The operant training led to some increases in total toy contact but did not appear to be significantly more effective than the control technique in promoting independent constructive play. The possible reasons for the relative lack of success of the behavioral training are discussed.

This research was supported by the National Society for Autistic Children and the Bethlem Royal Hospital Research Fund. Some of the results were reported at the B.P.S. Annual Conference, York, April 1983. We are grateful to the children involved in the study, their parents, and the staff. We are also indebted to Mrs. E. Goodall for the H.B.S. schedule data and to Dr. D. Hands and Mr. A. Smith for the multivariate analyses.