The importance of teaching a child to enjoy “play” is essential. The beginning steps of play should be fun and silly. You will want to commence by building up anticipation. Be enthusiastic and repeat the same vocalizations and actions! We all know the game of Peek-a-boo. Say ‘ahhh boo!’ each time you gradually move towards your child and remove your hands from your face. As your child begins to attend to you, you will notice a smile and eye gaze. You will want to imitate what your child is doing and make a game of it. Remember, play should be fun and goofy! It is crucial in the beginning steps that we as parents or guardians pair words with what our child is doing. In other words, you will want to describe what your child is doing. Use a fun voice, whichever your child tends to enjoy. By pairing these words with reinforcement will make it more likely that your child will use the words later. Incorporate exaggerated facial expressions and body movements to portray yourself as this fun person!
Our team of Behavior Technicians / Instructor Therapists are enthusiastic, passionate and creative individuals who are not afraid to act silly and have fun while teaching a multitude of skills that are specific to each child and range across of a variety of developmental domains. The Portia Curriculum has over 50 Play and Social programs. From teaching leisure skills to imitating play actions with single objects to pretend play our Learners feel like it’s play and fun with adults and peers but to our team it is therapy at its finest.
Click here to see the Portia Play and Social Curriculum: https://www.portiapro.com/curriculum/play-and-social-module/
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