AboutMichelle Fattig Expertise I can answer questions about educational testing, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Special Education, IEP, Learning Disabilities, Sensory Processing, Parent Advocacy, Response to Intervention, living and parenting with disabilities, parent rights in special education, school psychology, and more. I cannot provide a medical diagnosis.
Experience I am a school psychologist, medical technologist, author of the Annie Books series: Experience Aspeger's Syndrome and Attention Deficits Through the Eyes of a Child, RTI facilitator, ILCD facilitator, parent advocate, presenter, and researcher. My children and I have Asperger's, ADD/ADHD, and learning disabilities.
Organizations National Association of School Pyschologists, American Medical Technologists, Learning Disabilities Association of Nebraska
Education/Credentials Ed.S. in School Psychology, doctoral studies in SPED Law, SPED Systems Enhancement Leadership, and doctoral candidate Education Leadership. MT(AMT) and MLT(ASCP)
Expert: Michelle Fattig Date: 1/29/2008 Subject: Pretend Play
Question QUESTION: I have a question about pretend play. It seems that everywhere you read it is a criteria for a diagnosis and seems to be very important, yet there seem to be many children that do have pretend play and are still on the spectrum? Would a child that initiates his own storylines while involving another person ex. pretending to drive someone to Dunkin Donuts in a small life size car, run out of gas, get there and then pretend to be the server, ask what kind of donuts you want ect., and then tell you they need to bring you home because they have to go to work,) ever happen with a kid on the spectrum? This kid is also not even 3 years old and plays pretend games constantly. He actually hates games of repitition like board games ex. Candyland or memory cards. He has enough other "spectrum" qualities but this pretend play thing is very conflicting. Please advise!
ANSWER: Pretend play is a tricky one, because so many of us look like we are doing pretend play, when in actuality we are devising an elaborate constructed (almost scripted) scenario. Looking to research in the UK by Baron-Cohen, it is described as the ultimate organized play, where we construct, organize, and plan. If another person wants to "play" with us, and they disrupt or alter our configurations or rules, it can cause discomfort or resistance. You can play by our rules, or not at all. As a child, I would decorate, coordinate, and set up my dolls or doll house, but never pretend played in the neurotypical fashion. If you are interested, a place to start reading or researching (google or other search engine) folk psychology versus folk physics, in the US it would be considered intuitive psychology versus intuitive physics. Those of us on the spectrum tend to be more gived in the intuitive/folk physics versus intuitive/folk psychology. We can figure things out and manipulate things better than we can figure out people or social play. Please let me know if you have any other questions, or would like more information.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I think what this kid is doing is more than organizing and planning. He has alot of symbolic play ex. pretending a jumprope is a snake or a humidifier is a rollercoaster for his plastic dolls or a washcloth is a seal jumping around in the bath. I was just wondering if there are kids that can genuinly pretend play on the spectrum?
Answer Interesting. Can he involve others actively? Meaning, if they join him, do they have to play by his rules or does he prefer to play alone or with adults? Children with Asperger’s Syndrome may have difficulty with too little or too much eye contact, an odd quality to speech cadence or volume, flat voice or expression, self-centered conversation patterns, obsessions or perseveration about topics or interests, writing difficulties, awkward or clumsy gait, lack of common sense, limited abstract thought process (very literal or concrete), overly particular about routines or rules, sensory dysfunction, and self-stimulating behaviors, if these behaviors are present, an evaluation may be helpful in order to determine what kinds of supports may be needed. A cognitive "trick" to help determine his ability to test the part of the theory of ToM "seeing lends to knowing" (Baron-Cohen) Show him a doll or stuffed toy, touch one to a box and have the other pretend to look in the box. Ask him “Which one knows what’s in the box?” "Normal" children, the researcher suggests, will correctly judge who knows what's in the box. Children on the spectrum will potentially fail because of the difficulty understanding another's perspective. Obvious this will not answer the question of is he or isn't he, but the results would be interesting! Let me know if I can provide any more information.
