Toy-Play Behavior and Use of Body by Autistic and Normal Children as Reported by Mothers

Abstract

A comparison of the toy play behavior and use of body of 30 autistic and 30 normal children between the ages of 2 and 7 was made by use of a maternal questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to yield a descriptive profile of age-appropriate play behavior and ritualistic behavior generally found to be characteristic of the autistic child. Exact probability tests on each of the 47 items of the questionnaire indicated significant differences ( p < .05) between groups, the normal Ss demonstrating more age-appropriate play behavior and the autistic more ritualistic behavior. Validity of the questionnaire was examined by comparing items from the questionnaire to similarly defined items in a structured observation study of autistic, normal, and retarded children. 14 autistic Ss were available for both studies. Consistency in toy-play behavior of autistic children was indicated as measured by the two techniques. Differences in toy-play behavior of normal and autistic samples were definitely indicated; a questionnaire technique gave high agreement with observation, providing a useful and efficient method for measuring toy-play behavior; further refinement of the questionnaire seems appropriate.