Learn to Play Therapy

Learn to Play Therapy supports children, aged between 2-10 years, with developmental delays & neurological conditions.  Guided by the therapist, sessions provide a range of play and learn activities. Initially, these activities match the child’s current development and are gradually made more challenging as the child's pretend play skills develop, additionally developing their emotional and social cognition.  

The aim of Learn to Play Therapy is to build the spontaneous pretend play ability of children.  A child’s pretend play ability is the highest form of play skill – this is because it is the most complex, and hence requires the child to think throughout, often encouraging flexible thinking. 

Pretend play skills for a child are linked to language, narrative, social skills, problem solving, self-regulation, creativity and social understanding.  Learn to Play benefits children who can sometimes find it difficult to initiate play, socialize with other children, or may have learning difficulties, developmental delay, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), down syndrome, or any other neurological condition.

The play therapist works with a child and parent/caregiver to develop the child’s pretend play skills in a directive way using specific toys to facilitate this growth. The purpose of Learn to Play is to help equip children with social play skills and build their confidence in those skills they need for their current life stage and into the future.

How does it work?

Initially, a pretend play assessment is completed to evaluate and determine the specific areas in pretend play skills that a child needs strengthening in, and this will create the foundation for session plans.  Children then attend weekly sessions, to build and strengthen the pretend play skills that have been identified and set in the goals of the therapeutic intervention.  Parent(s)/ caregiver(s) are also a part of this process to help understand the child’s pretend play skill. 

For some children, skills development can quickly develop, and for others it may take some time.   Session plans will vary for each child and we work at the child’s pace and measure growth based on their goals.