Topic > Therapeutic Play Project - 710

As I was orienting myself to the Helping Hands children I discovered the need for therapeutic play with a 24 month old African American child. He was lying on the floor and shaking his head back and forth repeatedly. He had thrown both feet to correct clubbed feet. I entered his room and introduced myself; he looked at me but didn't answer. I started asking him simple questions about the different toys in the room and soon realized that he was unable to form words. He occasionally expressed language with sounds. I considered that: “Children with language delays are at risk of difficulties with social skills because their repertoire of play skills may be limited. Early interventions can help students learn play skills and prevent future social difficulties” (Sualy, Yount, Kelly-Vance, & Ryalls, 2011, p. 105). I immediately understood the need for a playful intervention. The norms of growth development for a two-year-old child can be divided into subgroups of physical, sensorimotor, psychosocial and cognitive-language characteristics. A child of this age should walk and run with ease, however due to his incorrect clubfeet he has never been able to walk. During our gaming session we were both in the prone position. A two year old should have fine muscle coordination. During our play session the child grabbed my name badge and held it easily in his hands, this shows his fine motor skills. Children of this age should be able to focus their eyes on near and far objects. I rolled a ball back and forth in my hands and he followed it with his eyes and head. When I bounced the ball, his head moved up and down following the direction of the bouncing ball. Hearing reaches adult level around the age of three; d...... middle of paper...... and to ensure that children with language delays do not lack opportunities for pretend play due to their delayed language skills” ( Sualy, Yount, Kelly-Vance, & Ryalls , 2011 , page 119). I was able to evaluate these findings and determine that the game encouraged the child to step outside of his comfort zone and interact with another individual despite his innate barriers. Works Cited Harkreader, H., Hogan, M.A., & Thobaben, M. (2007 ). Childhood through school age development. In Fundamentals of Nursing: Clinical Care and Judgment (pp.322-348). St. Louis, MO: Saunders. Sualy, A., Yount, S., Kelly-Vance, L., & Ryalls, B. (2011). USING A PLAY INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE THE PLAY SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH LANGUAGE DELAY. International Journal Of Psychology: A biopsychosocial approach / Tarptautinis Psichologijos Zurnalas: Biopsichosocialinis Poziuris, (9), 105-122.