Increasing the Engagement and Complexity of Block Play in Young Children

Blocks and block play are ubiquitous to early childhood settings and as such provide a normative context for social interactions between children with and without disabilities. However, children with disabilities tend to engage in more repetitive and less complex play than their peers, which might limit social interactions and opportunities to practice skills across domains. The current study examined the use of imitation plus play expansions delivered in a small group instructional context on the engagement and complexity of block play in young children with or at-risk for disabilities and their peers. Results indicated that the target children increased levels of engagement with the intervention package. However, their levels of block play complexity increased only when visual and verbal prompts were added to the intervention package.