Autism and Play: Bringing Insights from Movement Research into Relationship-Based Practice

ABSTRACT

This article is intended to spark discussion about, and greater recognition of, play as it emerges among people diagnosed on the autism spectrum. To do so, it will view autism through the promising lens of dynamic systems theory, commonly known to researchers in child development as the movement, or movement-sensing, approach. In depicting autism as a movement difference that can interrupt the complex coordination involved in social interactions, communication, and exploration, this approach aims toward a fresh, nonjudgmental perspective that may allow us to move past the increasingly wobbly infrastructure of autism diagnosis and prognosis. The first half of the article will consider the current state of research and practice, while the second half reflects on the play of several children with autism.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism
• play
• child development
• movement
• sensory
• relationship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pat Amos

Pat Amos, M.A., develops and presents trainings for professionals and parents on a range of autism-related topics. As a parent and an advocate for people with autism, she has served as a Board Member and Human Rights Committee chair of TASH International, as president of the Autism National Committee, and as a member of Pennsylvania’s Developmental Disabilities Council.