Can autistic children play pretend? Does autism make kids unable to pretend play? Some people think so. Some believe that ASD diagnosed children are incapable of pretend play.
Dr. Stanley Greenspan certainly didn’t think so. In fact, the Greenspan Floortime model includes informed and effective play psychotherapy as a key aspect of its therapeutic process. Dr. Greenspan also taught that ASD youngsters can learn to play pretend at home with their parents.
In fact, pretend play engages a child’s emotions, including a child on the autism spectrum. Pretend play helps build a child’s use of words, concepts and symbols. Interactive drama can be a very effective therapeutic tool. On page 124 of their book Engaging Autism: Using the Floortime Approach to Help Children Relate, Communicate, and Think, Dr. Greenspan says to “teach not just with words but also with images, actions, and drama.”
Once children, with or without ASD, learn the fun of interacting with another human being, it feels so glorious and natural to them that they begin seeking it out more and more.
Dr. Greenspan
Engaging emotionally with the child is at the heart of Floortime. By emotionally engaging with their caregivers, children don’t merely come to value human interaction, they begin to actually enjoy emotional engagement. This is so much more wholesome and important than mere rote learning or behavioral instruction. Dr. Greenspan said that “once children, with or without ASD, learn the fun of interacting with another human being, it feels so glorious and natural to them that they begin seeking it out more and more.”
That enjoyment of fun interactions goes both ways of course. As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, imagine the joy and pleasure of emotionally engaging with your child. And, it’s never too late to start. Greenspan Floortime can be used with older children, teens, and adults to achieve authentic emotional engagement.
Greenspan Floortime is a comprehensive, evidence-based approach developed by Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan that uses emotionally meaningful play interactions to support children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and communication development. It is the foundation of the DIR™ model.
Many children with autism show delayed or limited pretend play compared to typically developing peers. Because symbolic play requires the capacity to represent ideas and emotions internally, it is closely tied to the social-emotional and cognitive developmental milestones that autism can affect.
Pretend play is a powerful indicator of symbolic thinking, emotional development, and social imagination — all of which are core to Dr. Greenspan’s developmental framework. Supporting the development of pretend play is a primary goal of Greenspan Floortime because it reflects deep developmental progress.
Greenspan Floortime builds pretend play by creating emotionally meaningful play scenarios that engage the child’s imagination and initiative. Therapists and parents introduce characters, stories, and imaginative themes, following the child’s lead while gently expanding the complexity and richness of the play.