Comparison of the Toy Play Behavior of Autistic, Retarded, and Normal Children

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Abstract
Autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children were observed individually during 20-min. play periods in which they were allowed complete freedom in the selection and use of toys. The observation period was divided into 60 segments and observers recorded which of a number of defined categories of toy uses occurred during each segment. This technique also provided a measure of the number of distinctly different acts comprising S's toy play repertoire. Both normal and retarded Ss exceeded the autistic Ss, and the normals surpassed the retardates in the proportion of over-all play devoted to combinational uses of toys. The play of the autistic group included higher proportions of both oral and repetitive uses of toys than that of the other groups. The toy play repertoires of the autistic Ss contained fewer distinctly different acts than the repertoires of either the normals or retardates.