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Susan R. SandallReprinted from the May 2003 edition of Young Children

Play Modifications for Children with Disabilities

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InclusionPlay PreschoolPrimary

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hildren with disabilities and other special needs mayhave difficulty participating in play activities. Teacherscan use a variety of modifications and adaptations tohelp the child take part in and learn from play. Thesemodifications and adaptations will be most useful whenthe teacher observes that the child is interested in theongoing activities but is unable to fully participate.

In the chart below I and several colleagues identifyeight categories of curriculum modifications thatteachers can use in their classrooms. Creative teacherswill think of many other modifications. The criticalsteps are to observe the child’s play and match thelevel of support to the child’s need.

Play Modifications forChildren with Disabilities

Type of modification Description Examples

Environmental support The teacher alters thephysical, social, and/ortemporal environment.

For a child who may wander fromcenter to center, make a photodisplay of the centers so the childcan select from the photos to makean individual schedule of what sheplans to do.

Materials adaptation The teacher modifies theplay materials so thatthe child can manipulatethem.

For a child who does not have thestrength to stand for long periods oftime, make a simple tabletop easelto let the child sit in a chair whilepainting.

Simplifying the activity The teacher simplifies acomplicated activity bybreaking it into smallerparts or reducing thenumber of steps.

For the child who is interested intable games but overwhelmed bythe parts and pieces, describe thesteps in clear, simple terms anddraw the child pictures so she canfollow the steps.

Using childpreferences

The teacher uses thechild’s preferred mate-rial, activity, or person toencourage the child toplay.

For the child who loves trains and hasnot yet explored the dramatic playarea, develop a train station theme forthe area or train-motif placemats inthe housekeeping area.

Susan R. Sandall

Susan R. Sandall,Ph.D., is an assistantprofessor at theUniversity of Washing-ton in Seattle. She isfaculty advisor for theinfant/toddler programand evaluationcoordinator for theDATA (Developmen-tally AppropriateTreatment for Autism)project, both locatedin UW’s ExperimentalEducation Unit, aninclusive earlychildhood program.

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Source: Adapted, bypermission of thepublisher, fromS.R. Sandall,I.S. Schwartz,G.E. Joseph,H.Y. Chou, E.M. Horn, J.Lieber, S.L. Odom, & R.Wolery, Building Blocksfor Teaching Preschoolerswith Special Needs(Baltimore: Paul H.Brookes Publishing Co.,2002), 46.

Special equipment The teacher uses specialor adaptive devices toallow the child’s access toand participation in theactivity.

For the child who uses a wheelchair,which places him at a differentheight than the other children, askthe therapist about using a beanbagchair for floor-time activities.

Adult support The teacher or anotheradult in the classroom joinsthe child’s play and encour-ages involvement throughmodeling and commenting.

For the enthusiastic child who isoften on the verge of losing control,go to the play area and join thechild’s play to slow down the paceand talk about the children’s play.

Peer support The teacher uses peersand helps them join achild’s play to give encour-agement through modelingand commenting.

For the child who has difficulty withactivities that require several steps(such as making a collage orbuilding a castle), pair the child witha buddy. The two can then taketurns participating in the activity.

Invisible support The teacher arrangesnaturally occurring eventswithin an activity to in-crease the probability ofthe child’s success.

For the child who is not yet speakingor has difficulty making othersunderstand, place photos or picturesymbols in the play area so that thechild can use them to increasepeers’ understanding.

One of my favorite play episodes happened when Iwas a preschool teacher at a program for children withspecial needs in Florida.

One afternoon the housekeeping center is buzzingwith activity. ShaVonne, Kandi, and Andrette areseated at a round table chatting away. Suddenly theysit up and adjust their church hats. Bonnie teeters overto them in pink high heels carrying a teapot. She holdsher pearls back as she leans forward to fill each oftheir cups, among nods and thank-yous. The churchladies’ conversation continues, and Bonnie hurriesback, balancing an imaginary tray of cookies—thinmints and lemon squares, from the looks of it.

Meanwhile, Jeremy’s flowered hat slides down as hebriskly irons clothes. Jeremy doesn’t tend to talk a lot

Sabrina A. Brinson

during activities because of a speech problem. Heblows his bangs out of his face and hands a shirt toReginald, who folds it and plops it on top of the pile.For the rest of the play period, they talk nonstop abouttheir work.

Ding! The bell rings for cleanup. Crystal looks in themirror and pats her red pillbox hat. Still smiling, sheunclips the green plastic earrings that dangle to hershoulders and puts them away. Irene signals to Lucy,who is deaf, and they quickly put away the broom andmop. Eric takes his thumb out of his mouth to stackdishes, and Freddie plows over the area rug with thevacuum cleaner one last time. “Vacuum cleaner,vacuum cleaner, vacuum cleaner . . .” He repeats thewords over and over while rolling it into the closet.

Type of modification Description Examples

Tea and Ironing in the Afternoon

Sabrina A. Brinson, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of earlychildhood education at the University of Memphis in Tennessee.She has also been a preschool teacher and coordinator of aninclusive model preschool program.

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A large group of older children, kindergarten throughfifth grade, are drawn to the prekindergarten room forthe weekly mixed-age “integration” hour. They areattracted by our classroom’s recently organized hospi-tal, complete with operating room.

One patient lies on the table while three fifth gradegirls take charge, preparing to perform a heart trans-plant. Pre-K and kindergarten children staff the hospitalkitchen, a pre-K doctor cradles his stuffed tiger, listeningcarefully with his stethoscope, and third-grader Ellen, achild with Down syndrome who has been part of ourschool community since she was two, struggles into ascrub suit. Like the younger children, Ellen seems to be

Cleta Booth is the prekindergarten teacher at the University ofWyoming Lab School. She has participated in internationaldelegations on early childhood special education and on play ineducation. Cleta has published articles in Young Children onplay and project work.

Cleta Booth

on the fringe, engaged in parallel play and perhapsunaware of the medical drama unfolding.

While the surgeons do an X ray, attach an IV, monitorblood pressure and heart rate, administer anesthesia,and finally begin to work with their imaginary scalpels,Ellen pulls on shoe covers, hair cover, and rubbergloves. Then she wanders away from the scene, turningher back, busy with some imaginary objects.

Just as the head surgeon pronounces the successfulremoval of the patient’s defective heart, Ellen turnsaround. She walks directly to the operating table withgreat dignity, head up and hands cupped wide in frontof her.

“Here’s the new heart,” she announces.The surgeons accept it with the same seriousness

and quickly complete their surgery on the rapidlyrecovering patient.

Everyone CanPlay a Role