Thomas Layton, Ming-Chen Chuang and Grace Hao
Play, especially symbolic play, is one of the most significant cognitive developments in early childhood and is the precursor of representational thought and language. The current investigation compared the play behaviors of a group of Chinese children with Down syndrome matched cognitively to a group of typically developing children.
The groups were matched by cognitive development as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley). Play behaviors were determined by using the Symbolic Play Scale. The children with Down syndrome were functioning at approximately the same developmental stage as the cognitively matched typical developing children, but the children with Down syndrome exhibited behaviors that were more pre-symbolic during the earliest stages of the Symbolic Play Scale and fewer play behaviors at the highest stages. The play behaviors of children with Down syndrome correlated significantly with their chronological ages but not their developmental age. The current findings suggest that Chinese children with Down syndrome function at a similar developmental stage of play as that of younger non-handicapped peers.