Play is not just a pastime for children—it is a fundamental aspect of early child development. Through play, children explore their world, build essential cognitive and social skills, and learn how to regulate their emotions. It fosters creativity, strengthens problem-solving abilities, and lays the foundation for lifelong learning. Play also supports physical development by improving motor skills, coordination, and overall health.
For many children, play comes naturally, evolving from simple sensory exploration in infancy to more structured games and social interactions as they grow. However, for children with disabilities or behavioural challenges, engaging in play can be significantly more difficult. Conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pathological demand avoidance (PDA), sensory processing disorder (SPD), and intellectual disabilities can all impact a child’s ability to initiate, sustain, or enjoy play.
Despite these challenges, all children have the potential to develop play skills when given the right support. Visual aids and structured play strategies can provide the predictability and guidance that many children need to feel comfortable and engaged in play.
This article will explore practical, evidence-based strategies drawn from Dolly Bhargava’s Getting Started!!! Using Visual Systems to Promote Play, helping families and professionals support children in developing essential play skills. By the end of this guide, readers will have the knowledge and tools to encourage play development effectively, making playtime a joyful and enriching experience for every child.
Dolly's resource booklet can be downloaded freely to use as a guide in the home, classroom or care setting. The booklet is full of practical advice on how to use visual supports to encourage play. There is also an accompanying video shown below.
Download Getting Started!!! Using Visual Systems to Promote Play by Dolly Bhargava.
Challenges with Play Skills Faced by Neurodivergent Children with Autism and other Behavioural Conditions
Visual systems can be really effective when supporting children with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pathological demand avoidance (PDA), sensory processing disorder (SPD) and intellectual disabilities.
Children with developmental disorders are likely to find free play time harder than their typically developing peers for the following reasons:
Difficulties with Social Interaction
For many neurodivergent children, social interaction can be one of the biggest barriers to engaging in play. Play is inherently social, often requiring children to read body language, respond to verbal and non-verbal cues, take turns, and navigate the give-and-take of shared experiences. However, autistic children and those with other behavioural conditions may find these elements of play particularly challenging.
One key area of difficulty is pretend play, which involves using imagination to create scenarios, roles, and storylines. Pretend play is crucial for social development, as it allows children to explore different perspectives, practice problem-solving, and develop communication skills. However, autistic children often struggle with flexible thinking and may prefer repetitive, structured activities over open-ended imaginative play. They may also find it difficult to spontaneously join in with group storytelling or role-playing games, making it harder for them to engage in social play with peers.
Social play, which involves direct interaction with others, can also present challenges. Activities like board games, playground games, and shared toy-based play require an understanding of social rules, such as turn-taking, cooperation, and compromise. Many neurodivergent children find these unspoken rules difficult to grasp, leading to frustration, withdrawal, or conflicts with peers. Additionally, difficulties with interpreting facial expressions, tone of voice, or sarcasm can make it harder for them to pick up on social cues during play.
Another key difficulty is collaborative play, which involves working together with others to achieve a common goal. This could be anything from building a tower with blocks to playing a team sport. Collaborative play requires communication, negotiation, and adaptability—skills that children with autism, ADHD, or PDA may find overwhelming. Some children may struggle to express their own ideas effectively, while others may have difficulty adjusting their play style to accommodate the preferences of their peers.
As a result of these challenges, many neurodivergent children may prefer solitary play or parallel play (playing alongside others without direct interaction). While this can still be valuable, it may limit opportunities for building friendships, learning social norms, and developing the teamwork skills needed in later life.
By using visual supports, parents and caregivers can help bridge these gaps, providing children with clear expectations and structured guidance to make social interactions in play more accessible and enjoyable. Visual schedules, social stories, and choice boards can give children the confidence to participate in social and collaborative play in a way that feels manageable and rewarding.
Communication Barriers
for those with speech or language delays, engaging in constructive play can be a frustrating experience. Communication barriers can limit their ability to express their needs, understand instructions, or participate in imaginative play, making social interactions more challenging. These difficulties can impact a child’s emotional development and hinder key aspects of early learning that are typically reinforced through play.
Children with speech and language difficulties may struggle with:
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Expressing their thoughts and ideas – They may know what they want to do but find it difficult to communicate it to others, leading to frustration or withdrawal from play activities.
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Understanding spoken instructions – Many play activities involve following multi-step directions, which can be overwhelming for children with receptive language challenges.
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Joining in imaginative play – Pretend play relies heavily on verbal storytelling and role-playing, which can be difficult for children who have trouble forming sentences or understanding abstract concepts.
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Interacting with peers – Play is a social activity, and difficulties in verbal communication can make it harder to negotiate, take turns, or collaborate in group settings with typically developing children.
These challenges can lead to feelings of exclusion, anxiety, or frustration, potentially discouraging children from engaging in play altogether. Given the crucial role play has in early learning and emotional development, finding ways to support communication is essential.
Sensory Sensitivities
For some children, over- or under-responsiveness to sensory stimuli can make play environments overwhelming or unappealing. Sensory sensitivities are common in conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and sensory processing disorder (SPD), affecting how children respond to textures, sounds, lights, or movement.
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Over-responsive children may find loud noises, bright colours, or certain textures distressing, making group play or messy activities difficult.
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Under-responsive children may seek intense sensory input, such as spinning, crashing, or mouthing objects, and struggle to engage in structured play.
Executive Functioning Challenges
Children with executive functioning difficulties often struggle with planning, transitioning between activities, and problem-solving, making structured or rule-based games frustrating. These challenges are common in conditions like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and developmental coordination disorder (DCD).
Why are Play Skills so Important?
Spontaneous play is essential at a young age for so many reasons, not least learning social behavior. Most children engage in symbolic play, physical play, functional play and social play with their peers ever day as part of normal development.
Play enhances multiple areas of development from and early age.
Physical Skills
Moving around, climbing on things, learning the limits of physical capability are all learned through physical play. It improves gross motor skills, strength and endurance. Physical play is often outdoors and an example of unstructured play.
Communication Skills
Whether the play is physical, abstract or constructive play, communication always plays a part in a social setting with other children. Talking about the activity, strategising and reasoning are all new skills that can be learned through play under the umbrella of communication.
Play encourages verbal and non-verbal expression.
Emotional Development
Play is a crucial part of emotional development, helping children understand and manage their feelings in a safe environment. Through play, children experience joy, frustration, excitement, and disappointment, learning how to regulate emotions and respond to different situations.
Role-playing, imaginative play, and cooperative games encourage empathy, self-awareness, and resilience. For example, taking turns in a game teaches patience, while pretend play helps children explore emotions by acting out real-life scenarios.
Intellectual Growth
Play fosters problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking, all essential for intellectual development. Activities like puzzles, building games, and role-playing encourage logical reasoning, experimentation, and imagination.
Through play, children learn cause and effect, explore new ideas, and develop focus, laying the foundation for skills in literacy, numeracy, and decision-making. Play-based learning helps children think independently and adapt to new challenges in a fun, engaging way.
Social Skills
Play provides a natural setting for children to learn cooperation, turn-taking, and conflict resolution. Interacting with peers helps develop empathy, negotiation skills, and an understanding of social norms.
Group activities, team games, and role-playing encourage active listening, sharing, and collaboration, essential for building friendships and working within a community. Through play, children practise social interaction in a safe, supportive way, strengthening their ability to engage with others confidently.
Educational Benefits
Play lays the foundation for early literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills. Activities like counting games, storytelling, and construction play encourage language development, spatial awareness, and logical thinking.
Unstructured play fosters curiosity and exploration, while structured games introduce rules, strategy, and reasoning, all crucial for academic success. By making learning engaging and hands-on, play helps children retain information, develop focus, and build a love for discovery.
Play is a powerful tool for child development, shaping physical, emotional, social, and intellectual growth from an early age. It enhances communication skills, fosters creativity, builds resilience, and introduces key educational concepts in an engaging way. However, for some children, barriers such as communication difficulties, sensory sensitivities, or challenges with executive functioning can make play less accessible.
Next we'll look at how visual supports can help make play accessible to all.
Using Visual Systems to Support Children's Play
Visual supports provide clarity, predictability, and guidance, reducing anxiety and making play more accessible to neurodivergent children. For example, visual cues break down play activities into clear steps, showing what to do and what comes next.
Non-verbal children or those with speech delays can use pictures, symbols, or signs to express choices and needs and visual tools like emotion charts or first-then boards provide ways to manage frustration and reinforce positive behaviours.
We'll work through seven visual systems used in supporting play:
Play Schedules
Play schedules provide a structured sequence of activities using pictures, symbols, or written words to help children understand what to expect during playtime. These schedules offer a clear visual roadmap, making transitions between activities smoother and reducing anxiety.
By laying out play steps in a predictable order—such as “First: Build blocks → Then: Clean up”—children gain a sense of control and independence, helping them move confidently from one activity to the next. Play schedules can be:
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Simple – Using two or three steps to guide short activities.
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Detailed – Outlining an entire play session with multiple stages.
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Flexible – Allowing room for choice while maintaining structure.
For neurodivergent children, play schedules reduce frustration, increase engagement, and support executive functioning, making playtime more enjoyable and accessible.
Choice Boards
Choice boards empower children by giving them control over their play activities in a structured and accessible way. Using pictures, symbols, or objects, these boards allow children to select their preferred activity without relying on verbal communication.
By presenting a set of clear, visual options, choice boards:
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Encourage decision-making skills by letting children make independent choices.
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Reduce frustration by providing a way to express preferences non-verbally.
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Increase engagement by ensuring children feel involved in selecting their activities.
Choice boards can be simple, offering two or three options, or more detailed, covering a full range of activities. Whether used at home, in the classroom, or in a care setting, they help children feel more confident and motivated to engage in play.
Social Stories
Social Stories use simple text and visuals to explain play scenarios and expected behaviours in a structured, engaging way. Originally developed by Carol Gray, these stories help children understand how to navigate social interactions, follow rules, and engage in cooperative play.
For example, a Social Story about “Playing at the park” might outline:
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What happens at the park (e.g., “I will go on the swings and slide”).
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How to interact with others (e.g., “I take turns on the swing and wait patiently”).
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How to handle challenges (e.g., “If the swing is busy, I can try another activity”).
These stories are particularly useful for children with autism and social communication difficulties, as they reduce anxiety, teach essential social skills, and prepare children for different play situations. By providing a clear, visual script, Social Stories™ help children feel more comfortable and confident in play settings.
First-Then Boards
First-Then Boards provide a simple, structured way to guide play by presenting activities in a clear sequence. Using pictures, symbols, or words, these boards help children understand what comes next, making transitions between activities easier.
A typical example might be:
“First, play with Legos. Then, read a book.”
This system is especially useful for:
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Motivating participation by pairing a less preferred activity (e.g., cleaning up) with a preferred one (e.g., playing with a favourite toy).
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Reducing resistance to transitions by setting clear expectations.
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Encouraging task completion by visually reinforcing the sequence of activities.
First-Then Boards are an effective tool for children who benefit from predictability and structured routines, helping them stay engaged and feel more in control of their play.
Visual Cues for Emotions
Understanding and expressing emotions is an essential part of social and emotional development, but some children struggle to recognise or communicate their feelings during play. Visual cues for emotions, such as a Feelings Chart, provide a structured way to help children identify and express their emotions in a clear, non-verbal way.
A Feelings Chart typically includes images or symbols representing emotions like:
? Happy – "I like this game!"
? Frustrated – "I need a break."
? Sad – "I don’t want to stop playing."
These visual tools can:
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Encourage emotional awareness by giving children a reference for how they’re feeling.
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Support self-regulation by helping children communicate distress before it escalates.
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Enhance social interactions by guiding children in recognising and responding to their peers’ emotions.
By incorporating emotion visuals into play, caregivers create a supportive environment where children can manage frustration, develop empathy, and build confidence in social settings.
Interactive Play Mats
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Use visual guides on play mats to help children understand game rules (e.g., footprints showing where to stand).
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Encourage participation in group activities.
Structured Play Setups
Structured Play Setups use designated play zones with visual labels to help children understand where and how to engage in different activities. By creating clear, organised spaces, these setups make playtime more predictable and accessible, reducing confusion and supporting independent play.
Examples include:
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A "Reading Corner" with a comfy chair and a sign indicating quiet time.
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A "Building Area" with labeled bins for blocks, encouraging structured creativity.
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A "Sensory Zone" with visual cues for different textures or calming activities.
Structured play environments:
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Provide clear boundaries, helping children transition between activities.
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Encourage independence by showing where materials belong.
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Reduce sensory overload by keeping play areas organised and visually clear.
By setting up visually structured play spaces, caregivers can help children feel more confident, engaged, and in control of their play environment.
Practical Tips for Creating and Using Visual Supports in Play
Incorporating visual supports into play can make a significant difference, but consistency and a supportive approach are key. Here are some practical tips to help parents and caregivers maximise the benefits of visual systems:
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Use Visuals Daily – Make visual supports a regular part of playtime by integrating pictures, symbols, or written words into routines. The more familiar a child becomes with these cues, the more effective they will be.
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Be Patient – Every child develops play skills at their own pace. Encourage engagement without pressure and celebrate small steps forward, no matter how minor they may seem.
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Model Play Behaviours – Demonstrate how to use toys, interact with others, and follow play rules. Children learn by observing, so showing rather than just telling can be incredibly effective.
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Keep Play Fun! – While structure is helpful, play should remain enjoyable and stress-free. Allow room for creativity and flexibility, ensuring that activities align with the child’s interests.
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Provide Positive Reinforcement – Acknowledge and praise effort rather than focusing only on successful outcomes. Encouraging a child’s attempts, no matter the result, builds confidence and motivation to continue engaging in play.
By following these strategies, parents and caregivers can create a supportive, engaging, and structured play environment, helping children develop essential skills while still enjoying the freedom and fun of play.
Conclusion
Visual communication systems provide children with disabilities the support they need to engage in play with confidence, helping them develop essential skills in a structured yet enjoyable way. By incorporating tools such as play schedules, choice boards, social stories, and structured play environments, caregivers can create inclusive, accessible play experiences that encourage learning, social interaction, and emotional growth.
With the right visual supports, play becomes not just an activity, but a powerful tool for development, self-expression, and connection. By embracing these strategies, parents and caregivers can ensure that every child has the opportunity to play, learn, and thrive.
Encourage play, inspire growth!