Do children with autism play differently?
Peggy Halliday: Yes they do and that’s one of the signs that clues us in that there maybe a difficulty here or a problem. Children with autism tend to play with toys in ways that they were not designed to be played with. For example instead of rolling a car back and forth a child with autism might pick it up and turn it over and just spin the wheels or they may take blocks and instead of stacking them or making things out of them, they may just line them up in a long row. They may take a string and just flick it and be very interested. They may be more interested in looking at their hands than in actual toys. There is a real lack over imaginative play and in pretend play as well in children with autism.
