Assessment of Natural Play for Instructional Planning

October 11, 2011

Play is a natural activity that young children use to explore and learn about their world, and how to function in it. Young children with delays in cognition, language, and social interaction show delays and limitations in their play activities that correspond to their other delays and therefore do not benefit in the same way as children without disabilities. The central premise of the Developmental Play Assessment (DPA) instrument is that instructional goals for infants, toddlers, and young children with disabilities, or at risk for disabilities, should include attention to developments in play as well as to developments in other domains. More information is available here.