Play is recognized as a fundamental element of early childhood development, serving as a primary means through which toddlers learn about the world and practice emerging social skills. For parents of children recently identified as being on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), questions often arise concerning how this neurodevelopmental difference affects typical play milestones. Observed differences in play are often one of the first indicators of ASD, offering significant insight into a toddler’s cognitive and social development. Understanding the nature of play in autistic toddlers, particularly their engagement with make-believe scenarios, is a crucial step for caregivers looking to support their child’s growth. This examination focuses on the subtle yet important differences in pretend play, its developmental implications, and practical strategies for encouragement.
Defining the Types of Pretend Play
Toddler play progresses through distinct stages, with two categories being particularly relevant to the discussion of ASD: functional play and symbolic play. Functional play, also known as relational play, involves using toys or objects for their intended purpose, which is a foundational skill in early development. Examples include pushing a toy car across the floor, stacking blocks to build a tower, or scribbling with a crayon on paper. This type of play helps children understand the cause-and-effect relationship between their actions and the object’s response.
Symbolic play, often called pretend play, represents a higher level of cognitive development that emerges around 18 months of age. This imaginative play involves using an object or action to represent something else, demonstrating the child’s capacity for abstract thought. A simple illustration of symbolic play is using a banana as a telephone or pretending a block is a car to be driven to the store. As children grow, symbolic play advances to include enacting multi-step scenarios, assigning roles, and creating elaborate narratives.
How Play Manifests in Autistic Toddlers
The core question of whether autistic toddlers engage in pretend play is answered with nuance: while the capacity for symbolic thought is present, the spontaneous initiation and complexity of imaginative play are often delayed or qualitatively different. Children with ASD often exhibit functional play skills comparable to their typically developing peers, especially when the actions are simple and directed toward the toy’s obvious function. However, as play should naturally transition to symbolic forms, differences become more noticeable, often appearing as a delay in the emergence of pretend play around 24 months.
The symbolic play that does occur in autistic toddlers may be less frequent, less imaginative, or more restricted than that of other children. Rather than creating a wide variety of scenarios, their play may be highly repetitive or focused on a limited, familiar script. Furthermore, an autistic toddler’s interaction with objects may involve unconventional manipulation, such as focusing intently on specific parts of a toy, spinning the wheels of a car rather than rolling it, or lining up objects in precise patterns. This distinct style of play can sometimes be misinterpreted as a complete inability to pretend.
Research suggests that the difficulty often lies not in understanding the concept of pretense, but in the spontaneous generation of novel play ideas or the transition to the decontextualized nature of symbolic play. Even when matched on language and cognitive levels, autistic children demonstrate fewer emerging or mastered symbolic play skills than other children. This difference highlights a challenge in social-cognitive skills like joint attention, which limits opportunities for shared imaginative play and narrative creation.
The Developmental Importance of Symbolic Play
Symbolic play is a powerful tool for cognitive and social development that supports several later-emerging skills. Engaging in make-believe scenarios is directly linked to the development of social cognition, allowing the child to practice understanding different perspectives and roles. This practice is foundational for developing a “theory of mind”—the ability to attribute mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and intentions, to oneself and others.
The complexity of symbolic play also drives language development, particularly in conversation and narrative construction. When a child is acting out a scenario, they are simultaneously developing a story structure and using language to describe events, which expands their vocabulary and conversational skills. Furthermore, the need to transform one object into another stimulates abstract thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic success later on.
Difficulties in symbolic play connect to the broader social communication challenges characteristic of ASD. Reduced involvement in joint playful engagement limits opportunities to develop symbolic representation and flexible thinking. When a child is less likely to spontaneously engage in pretend play, they miss out on critical practice for social interaction and emotional understanding.
Strategies for Encouraging Play Skills
Caregivers can actively facilitate the development of both functional and symbolic play skills in autistic toddlers using targeted, supportive strategies.
Following the Child’s Lead
One effective approach is to follow the child’s lead, observing their current interests and preferred activities. These interests serve as a starting point to introduce new play actions. If a child is fascinated with trains, the caregiver might use that interest to suggest building a train station with blocks, which subtly introduces a more complex scenario.
Modeling and Visual Supports
Modeling is a highly effective technique, where an adult actively demonstrates how to use a toy functionally and then symbolically. For instance, a parent can first roll a toy car across the floor and then demonstrate making the car “talk” or drive to a pretend house, narrating the actions to encourage imitation and language development. Using visual supports, such as picture cues or visual schedules, can help the toddler understand the expected sequence of actions in a play scenario, making the activity more predictable and less overwhelming.
Joint Attention and Structure
Incorporating joint attention techniques is important, as the ability to share a focus on an object or event with another person is linked to the emergence of spontaneous symbolic play. This can involve simple actions like pointing out an interesting feature on a toy, making eye contact, and then engaging in a shared play action. Structured play settings, such as using a “play box” with specific items to enact a mini-drama like a doctor’s visit, can provide the necessary framework for the child to practice sequencing and role-playing skills. Celebrating every step of engagement, no matter how small, with positive reinforcement helps build the child’s confidence and motivation to explore new forms of play.