THERAPIES
PLAY THERAPY
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Play is the primary occupation of the children; play can be readily identified as the tie that binds occupational therapy assessment and treatment.
The goal of play therapy was to alter the environment of the sick room and to divert the children from thoughts of illness by engaging them in the occupation of creating toys. Play as diversion was an integral part of occupational therapy (OT) intervention with children during this paradigm.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF PLAY :
According to Rubin, Fein, Vandenberg (1983), the play can be defined in three ways. In the first approach, play is defined by the traits that distinguish it from other types of behaviours. They identified six commonly cited characteristics that distinguish play from non-play. Each of these characteristics represents a continuum at one extreme, each is a trait of play; at the other, each reflects non-play. The Characteristics listed by Rubin and his colleagues are as follows.
- Play is an intrinsically motivated behaviour
- In play, the player plays more attention to the means than the ends; the process than the product
- Play is guided by the organism, not the stimulus
- Play comprises non serious renditions of activities
- In play, the player is free from externally imposed rules
- When playing, the player is actively engaged in the play activity and is not a passive participant
USE OF PLAY AS A THERAPEUTIC MODALITY :
Play is the vehicle by which individuals become masters of their environment, then play should be among the most powerful of therapeutic tools. To effectively use play as a therapeutic tool, it is important to remember that play is :
- A transaction between the child and the environment which is intrinsically motivated, internally controlled and free from objective reality.
- A continuum of behaviours from play to non-play.
The therapist changes the non-playful interaction into a playful one by altering the perception of control, the source of motivation or the need for objective reality in a situation.
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