Learning through Play in ABA
Play is fun, and with fun comes motivation! In ABA, we use a technique called Natural Environment Teaching (NET) to capitalize on naturally occurring situations and interests to teach skills. Why is play so important and powerful?! Because play creates meaningful opportunities for learning! A child’s “job” is to play!
One of my favorite toys to use during session is bubbles. They are engaging, motivating, and great for teaching a variety of skills. Bubbles can help encourage communication through phrases such as, “more bubbles,” “can I have bubbles?” or “help me open bubbles.” They also create opportunities to model descriptive language concepts like big bubbles, little bubbles, a lot of bubbles, or a few bubbles while narrating the activity together.
Play can also increase joint attention, social engagement, and create natural opportunities for imitation. While we play together, I can model important communication and interaction skills in a natural and fun way.
I also love incorporating a child’s personal interests into learning. For example, I love Pokémon and a shared interest in Pokémon can help build rapport while creating exciting learning opportunities. We might use a learner’s favorite Pokémon toy during pretend play with toy food and have a “pizza party” with our Pokémon. This allows us to work on skills such as answering questions, expanding language, identifying categories, and using imagination, all while maintaining motivation through Pokémon! Questions like, “Can you find a crunchy vegetable for the pizza?” or “Can you give the Pokémon that lives in the water the big pizza?” turn play into a fun and meaningful learning experience.
I also enjoy introducing activities that may provide new experiences or exposure. For example, we might add the Pete the Cat Pizza Party book to our Pokémon pizza activity. This introduces a new character! Or, is coloring or writing usually a non-preferred task? Let’s color a Pokémon coloring page and then write your name on top so Pikachu knows who created the masterpiece! This is a great way to increase excitement for something that might be tricky!
The opportunities during play are endless. Learners are not only having fun, but they are also building communication, social, and daily living skills while expanding creativity and working toward their goals.
ABA services at C&FD are unique, and are provided at our Pineville location, Midtown location, in homes, as well as in the community. If you have questions about any of the Autism services at Child & Family Development, schedule a free phone consultation with a BCBA.
