Feature Article

Playground Behaviors of Children With and Without Sensory Processing Disorders

Joanna Cosbey, PhD, OTR/L; Susan S. Johnston, PhD, CCC-SLP; M. Louise Dunn; Mari Bauman, ScD, OTR/L

  • OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health
  • Spring 2012 - Volume 32 · Issue 2: 39-47
  • DOI: 10.3928/15394492-20110930-01
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Abstract

It has been well established that participation in social activities is essential to children’s development and that disability status can affect a child’s participation in everyday activities. However, little research has been done on the impact of sensory processing disorders (SPDs) on social participation and play behaviors. This study is part of a larger study examining the social participation of children with SPD and specifically compares the playground play behaviors of children with SPD and those of their typically developing peers. Both groups of children were observed over multiple sessions during unstructured recess activity and their behaviors were coded and analyzed. Statistically, results show that the play patterns of the two groups were generally similar. However, there were qualitative differences in the play behaviors of the two groups, including conflict, social play, access to play opportunities, and awareness of social cues. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

AUTHORS

Joanna Cosbey, PhD, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor of Special Education, and Mari Bauman is Graduate Student, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Susan S. Johnston, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Professor of Special Education, and M. Louise Dunn, ScD, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.

The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the materials presented herein.

This manuscript was accepted under the editorship of Jane Case-Smith, EdD, OTR/L, FAOTA.

Address correspondence to Joanna Cosbey at jcosbey@unm.edu

Submitted: April 8, 2011
Accepted: July 29, 2011
Posted online: October 7, 2011

doi: 10.3928/15394492-20110930-01

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