TITLE:
Understanding Indoor Play in Deaf Children: An Analysis of Play Behaviors
AUTHORS:
Millicent M. Musyoka
KEYWORDS:
Deaf Children, Play Behavior, Preschool Play, Indoor Play, ASL/English Bilinguals
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.6 No.1,
January
14,
2015
ABSTRACT: Play is an important element of cognitive, social and language
development. Most preschool classrooms provide opportunity for indoor play and
studies are needed to improve indoor play contexts for all children, including
deaf children. The present study documented and described the play behaviors of
Ann, a four-year-old native American Sign Language (ASL) deaf child in an ASL/ English
bilingual classroom. Ann engaged in various play behaviors, in different play
centers, and with different play partners. The sample consisted of 22 play
episodes collected over a period of one year. A combination of social and
cognitive play behavior categories based on Rubin’s (2001) Play Observation
Scale were used for documenting and the coding of the play behaviors observed.
The results revealed that Ann was capable of engaging in developmentally
appropriate play behaviors that were similar to those reported for hearing
children her age. In addition, her play behaviors varied in relation to the
play context and play partners. Teacher’s decisions and control of play in the
classroom appeared to have an impact on the play behaviors Ann demonstrated.