All Play Is Functional: Moving From Assessing to Celebrating Autistic Play in the Preschool Classroom

• In Event: Expansion(s): Critical and Relational Pedagogies in Classrooms

Abstract

Early Childhood educators are tasked with assessing the behavior of children in their classrooms for any autism related “red flags” which includes lining up objects, hoarding items, and stimming. These behaviors are often framed as “unfunctional” (Lovaas, 1987) and stopping them becomes the goal of many interventions. This conceptual paper asks what new possibilities can emerge when autistic “behaviors” are instead seen as autistic forms of play. Theories of children’s play will be understood through Disability Studies (DS) and Disability Studies in Education (DSE) frameworks which examine the ableist practices of schooling. Driving this paper are the early childhood narratives of autistic people specifically the experience of one adult case study participant who recalls her preschool memories of play.

Author

• Rae Leeper, Bank Street College of Education