Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination
Support autistic children in shared play with peers using this evidence-based curriculum!

Countless children on the autism spectrum spend too much time alone. Without the necessary guidance, they are especially vulnerable to being excluded from their peer group and leading impoverished play lives. First published 20 years ago, this practical guide offers an introduction to the basic principles, tools, and techniques that make up the Integrated Play Groups.® (IPG) model.

Pamela Wolfberg has translated theory into effective and meaningful practice, giving practitioners, parents, and other caregivers the knowledge and skill to start inclusive peer play groups for children at school, home, and in community settings. The second edition has new research and is heavily influenced by the neurodiversity movement. And while aspects of the IPG model have been updated from earlier versions of this work, the original principles and practices are still the same.

It is inspired from deep engagement with people who identify as autistic or neurodivergent, including professionals, scholars, students, advocates, friends, and family members.

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Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination
Support autistic children in shared play with peers using this evidence-based curriculum!

Countless children on the autism spectrum spend too much time alone. Without the necessary guidance, they are especially vulnerable to being excluded from their peer group and leading impoverished play lives. First published 20 years ago, this practical guide offers an introduction to the basic principles, tools, and techniques that make up the Integrated Play Groups.® (IPG) model.

Pamela Wolfberg has translated theory into effective and meaningful practice, giving practitioners, parents, and other caregivers the knowledge and skill to start inclusive peer play groups for children at school, home, and in community settings. The second edition has new research and is heavily influenced by the neurodiversity movement. And while aspects of the IPG model have been updated from earlier versions of this work, the original principles and practices are still the same.

It is inspired from deep engagement with people who identify as autistic or neurodivergent, including professionals, scholars, students, advocates, friends, and family members.

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Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination

Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination

by Pamela J. Wolfberg
Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination

Peer Play and the Autism Spectrum: The Art of Guiding Children's Socialization and Imagination

by Pamela J. Wolfberg

Paperback(2nd ed.)

$34.95 
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Overview

Support autistic children in shared play with peers using this evidence-based curriculum!

Countless children on the autism spectrum spend too much time alone. Without the necessary guidance, they are especially vulnerable to being excluded from their peer group and leading impoverished play lives. First published 20 years ago, this practical guide offers an introduction to the basic principles, tools, and techniques that make up the Integrated Play Groups.® (IPG) model.

Pamela Wolfberg has translated theory into effective and meaningful practice, giving practitioners, parents, and other caregivers the knowledge and skill to start inclusive peer play groups for children at school, home, and in community settings. The second edition has new research and is heavily influenced by the neurodiversity movement. And while aspects of the IPG model have been updated from earlier versions of this work, the original principles and practices are still the same.

It is inspired from deep engagement with people who identify as autistic or neurodivergent, including professionals, scholars, students, advocates, friends, and family members.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781963367065
Publisher: Future Horizons, Inc.
Publication date: 01/07/2025
Edition description: 2nd ed.
Pages: 286
Product dimensions: 8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Dr. Pamela J. Wolfberg  is a professor emerita who pioneered autism studies at San Francisco State University, while serving on the faculty in special education with the joint doctoral program at the University of California, Berkeley. Her life's work has been dedicated to supporting autistic individuals at the intersection of neurodiversity, peer socialization, play culture, and the arts. Drawing from her experiences as a scholar, educator, play therapist, and ally to the autistic community, she developed the Integrated Play Groups model and founded the Autism Collective for Peer Socialization, Play and Imagination. She leads an international agenda focused on research, training, and global outreach to advance social inclusion, play, and creative expression as fundamental human rights. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, books, and chapters, with many works translated into multiple languages. Her contributions have earned her numerous prestigious awards for scholarship and community service.

Read an Excerpt

Watching children play freely generates feelings of delight and endearment in most of us. As we consider the origins of such feelings, we may touch upon memories of our own play in childhood. Many of us will picture a special playmate, a favorite plaything, an imaginary companion, secret place, and precious time when nothing else mattered but the world of make-believe invented in our minds, and with our friends. Some of us may even long to go back in time, to recapture those seemingly endless moments of pure joy and well-being.

Now picture a childhood lacking in opportunities to freely explore, create, and be oneself - a childhood without playmates or friends who find mutual enjoyment around shared interests and fully accept you for who you are. Many of us may be aware of children who do not play in usual or expected ways – children who on the surface appear confused, distracted, or uninterested when playing in the company of peers. Some of us may be curious, intrigued, or surprised to see how these children play on their own, but feel uneasy that they stand out as different from their peers. We may think of them as outsiders – children on the fringes of playgrounds and other social gathering places.

This book encapsulates the core of my life’s work, dedicated to advancing the rights of autistic children to fully experience the joy and benefits of social inclusion and creative expression through meaningful engagement in play. Following in the footsteps of past seminal works (Wolfberg, 1994; 2003; 2009), it features the latest evolution of the Integrated Play Groups® (IPG) model. The IPG model is designed to guide autistic and allistic (neurotypical and non-autistic) children in co-creating an inclusive play culture – one that fosters socialization and imagination in mutually enjoyable experiences. With a robust research base, the IPG model is now established among evidence-based practices for autistic children representing diverse ages, abilities, and backgrounds. IPG programs have been applied across a variety of disciplines (e.g., education, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, play therapy) in diverse educational, therapeutic, and recreational settings. Given the universality of play, translations and adaptations of the IPG model have been adopted by many cultural communities worldwide with considerable outreach to underserved populations.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

MODULE I: Embracing the Spirit of Play - IPG Conceptual Foundation

CHAPTER 2: Insights into Peer Play and Autism

CHAPTER 3: Nature of Play in Autism

CHAPTER 4: Making Peer Play a Priority

TOOLS AND FIELD EXERCISES

Self-Reflection Log

IPG Fidelity Check

MODULE II: Setting the Stage for Play - IPG Program and Environmental Design

CHAPTER 5: Planning Integrated Play Groups

CHAPTER 6: Creating Inclusive Play Spaces

CHAPTER 7: Gathering and Preparing the Players

CHAPTER 8: Structuring the Play Session

TOOLS AND FIELD EXERCISES

Integrated Play Groups Action Plan

Play Area Layout

Play Materials

Player Orientation

Demystifying Autism

Opening and Closing Rituals

Visual Supports

Self-Reflection Log

IPG Fidelity Check

MODULE III

Portraying Children at Play - IPG Assessment Practices

CHAPTER 9

Fundamentals of Meaningful Assessment

CHAPTER 10

Conducting Quality Assessments

TOOLS AND FIELD EXERCISES

Integrated Play Groups Assessment Binder

IPG Assessment Schedule

Play Questionnaire

Play Preference Inventory

IPG Field Notes

Play Observation

Profile of Play Development

IPG Summative Report

Player Focus Groups

Parent/Caregiver Follow-Up Survey

Practice in Naturalistic Observation

Self-Reflection Log

IPG Fidelity Check

MODULE IV

Guided Participation in Play - IPG Facilitation Practices

CHAPTER 11: Nurturing Play Initiations

CHAPTER 12

Guiding Social Communication

CHAPTER 13: Scaffolding Play

CHAPTER 14: Guiding Play in the ZPD

TOOLS AND FIELD EXERCISES

Social Communication Cues

Social Communication Poster

Guided Participation Implementation

Self-Reflection Log

IPG Fidelity Check

CHAPTER 15: Case Illustrations and Conclusion

REFERENCES

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