Investigation of play skills of children with typical development and language and speech disorders according to demographic variables

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the play skills of children with typical development and those with speech and language disorders (SLD) based on gender, the presence of siblings, and parents’ education levels. There were 270 children included in the study's sample. In the study, ‘The Play Behaviour Scale’ was used. Reticent behaviour scores of girls with SLD were significantly higher than those of boys, and scuffle play, scores of typically developing boys were significantly higher than those of girls. The social play scores of children with SLD were statistically significant when they had a sibling. Children whose parents had a high school education or less had considerably higher scuffle play ratings than children whose parents had a university degree or above. Consequently, it was observed that demographic variables influenced the play skills of children with SLD. Defining these children's play behaviours based on various variables will be beneficial for creating intervention programmes.