Play has been presented as the ideal intervention for almost every conceivable kind of problem experienced by children: emotional problems, attention disorders, learning difficulties, and social isolation. In this ground-breaking book, leading play theorists, researchers, and practitioners present their opinions and research results about the influence of play and of special play programs on different aspects of child development.The first section explores why play therapy is used and what play's specific role is in the classical play therapy approach. The second part is devoted to experimental play programs for different types of children with special needs. In the last section, the effects of modern play approaches in primary schools are discussed as well as the influence of these play interventions on cognitive and social skills. This is a book for practitioners and theorists in the field of play, who are not just uncritical consumers or idealizers of play, but who are concerned in searching for the real value of play in various therapeutic and educational settings.
Joop Hellendoorn is Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Rimmert van der Kooij is Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Brian Sutton-Smith is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania.
General Introduction Paradigms of InterventionBrian Sutton-Smith Part I: Play Therapy Introduction 1. The Scientific Foundations of Play TherapyJerome L. Singer 2. Therapeutic Play: From Interpretation to InterventionBertha Mook 3. Stimulating and Guiding Children's Spontaneous Learning in Play TherapyStefan Schmidtchen 4. Process in Person-Centered Play TherapyHerbert Goetze 5. Games of Complexity: Reflections on Play Structure and Play InterventionGerd E. Schafer 6. Imagery Techniques in Play Therapy with ChildrenDorothy G. Singer 7. Indications and Goals in Imagery Interaction Play TherapyBerendien L. van Zanten Part 2: Play for Children with Special Needs Introduction 8. Imaginative Play Training for Severely Retarded ChildrenJoop Helendoorn 9. Families at Play: Interventions for Children with Development HandicapsRoy McConkey 10. Play Within an Intervention for Multiply Handicapped ChildrenHan Nakken, Carla Vlaskamp and Ruud van Wijck 11. Effectiveness of Play Training with Handicapped ToddlersJan M.H. de Moor, Betty T.M. van Waesberghe and Han H.L. Oud 12. Play Assessment for Play-Based Intervention: A First Step with Young Children with Communication DifficultiesKay P. Mogford-Bevan 13. Play Training for Autistic ChildrenIna A. van Berckelaer-Onnes Part 3: Theory and Research on School Play Intervention Introduction 14. Play Training: An OverviewPeter K. Smith 15. Play: Positive Intervention in the Elementary School CurriculumWaltraut Hartmann and Brigitte Rollett 16. Academic PlayJames F. Christie EpilogueJoop Hellendoorn, Rimmert van der Kooij, and Brian Sutton-Smith Notes References Notes on Contributors Author Index Subject Index