How to Help Cerebral Palsy Preschool Children With Pretend Play
Cerebral palsy is a series of permanent neurological disorders that show up in infancy and early childhood. They affect muscle coordination and body movement. Abnormalities in the sections of the brain that control muscle movements cause cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy can be treated, but it cannot be cured. Physical difficulties in children with more severe cases of cerebral palsy make certain types of play, like pretend play, challenging. But challenging does not mean impossible. Their movements may be affected, but children with cerebral palsy have just as much imagination and creativity as any child. There are ways to adapt pretend play for preschoolers with cerebral palsy which will allow them to take part in all the fun.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
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1
Pair him up with a child chosen for her empathy. Her role is not to enable, but to be patient and sometimes let your cerebral palsy child take the lead. This child can also be helpful in finding ways to adapt activity to make it easier for your cerebral palsy child to be able to actively participate.
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2
Substitute toys and objects as characters instead of having your child physically act things out. Complex tasks that he may not be able to accomplish on his own may be able to be done in a limited fashion by a toy.
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3
Encourage a pretend play style that relies on voices rather than action. Your child will get to use her creativity in a way that lets her be just as effective as the other kids.
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4
Create roles in pretend play that are not as reliant on complex physical movements. This will allow him to be a part of the other children's play. Let him be the cashier while playing store, or be a gardener if you are playing pretend jobs.
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5
Using "scripts" may help to get a cerebral palsy child who is nervous about pretend play to feel more comfortable about getting involved. Create a character and give some examples of what to say, how to act, what that character does and why that character is important.
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Recognize the creativity in your child by having her be the "director." This would not be an opportunity to boss the other kids around, but to create the scenario and characters that drive the action.
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Tips & Warnings
Pretend play is an important component to child development-one that your child cannot afford to miss just because he has cerebral palsy. It may not be easy, but finding ways for him to partcipate in pretend play is worth the effort in helping the mental and emotional growth of your child.
