Play and Self-Stimulatory Behaviors of Autistic and Other Severely Dysfunctional Children With Different Classes of Toys

Abstract

Seven autistic and other severely dysfunctional boys were placed individually in a barren environment. There they were given a toy to interact with and their behavior was observed. During 15 sessions, in randomized order each child was given soft toys, hard toys, and wheeled toys. For every child there was more self-stimulatory behavior, more movement around the room, less contact with the toy, less orienting towards the toy, and less manipulation of the toy when a soft toy was given. There were no systematic differences in behavior between sessions with hard toys and sessions with wheeled toys.