The Views and Experiences of Teachers, Therapists and Integration Aides of Play-based Programs within Specialist School Settings

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Australia, children with developmental delay and disability, who have an IQ less than 70, are eligible to attend a specialist school. These schools are called special schools or special developmental schools. Teachers, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists work in these schools together with integration aids. Children with developmental delay and disability require support when they enter school due to difficulties in play, language and social interaction. Play is important to a child’s functioning with pretend play strongly linked to language acquisition and social competence. In many specialist schools in Victoria Australia, occupational therapists have implemented play programs. This study aimed to explore staff experiences of play-based programs within specialist schools in order to inform occupational therapy practice for children with developmental delay and disability in a specialist school setting. There were 20 participants. Of these, 11 were teachers, 4 were therapists, 3 were integration aides, and two were assistant principals. Data were collected through focus groups. Thematic Analysis was used to analyze the qualitative (focus group) data. Five themes emerged from the data. These were: ‘We value play’, ‘Child led play is a challenge’, ‘Confidence to be a co-player with children with diverse play skills’, ‘We need parents to understand’ and ‘Barriers to play programs’. Staff valued play in the curriculum for these children, as staff understood play was a foundational ability. Staff described the challenges of play programs within a school in terms of a change in their role, being a co-player, balancing structure with child-initiated play, resources, and assessment of play. Schools that had access to an occupational therapist were more confident in play assessment, selection of play activities for the program, and encouraging self-initiated play. The findings of the study inform the role of occupational therapy in specialist schools.