Play Units of Toys

The University of Iowa
Regional Autism Services Program
Child Health Specialty Clinic

Play Units of Toys

EXPANDING OPTIONS IN PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING
PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
AND PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER (PDD)

By Sue Baker, Autism Services Consultant (319-356-4619), Department of Education and Child Health Specialty Clinics, University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, IA

Project Description: Groups of materials will be available for parents, professionals, and others to use in providing various learning options for child growth and development. These materials are organized around daily life events of young children and can be used for a variety of instructional and play strategies. Strategies may include structured teaching, discrete trial format, incidental teaching, Applied Behavior Analysis (aka Lovaas Behavioral Therapy) behavioral modification, peer involvement, and group instruction.

To Consumer: This lending library inventory will be sent to parents and professionals in Iowa. Out of state lending will not be possible at this time. You may be interested in participating in this toy project. Borrowing these units from the Regional Autism Services Program, University Hospital School, 100 Hawkins Drive Room 239, Iowa City, Iowa 53324-1011, is a free service. Your only commitment is to return the materials via UPS.

Step 1: Complete the materials inventory list, check marking the three units you would like to borrow. Recognizing these units may be checked out to other consumers, rank your three choices, send the attached pages request form with consumer address listed) back, and this office will send UPS the items to you. You will be asked to return them UPS to this office, which is your only cost in borrowing the materials, unless items have been damaged or lost.

Step 2: This office will send you the materials or contact you about when the other priority items you desired will be expected back in the office, if known. Please follow the inventory instructions enclosed in each box. This will ensure that you receive all the materials designed with this unit’s theme and also that all the materials are returned to this office. These materials are intended to be used only with IFSP/IEP specific goals and should not be made available to other staff or other children. If by chance, materials are not returned to this office, you will be contacted and asked to locate the items or negotiate a replacement item.

Step 3: Enclosed with each unit are samples of activities, sample routines, and targeted language that can be used when teaching students via discrete trial format strategies, incidental teaching, etc. These samples provide you with a guide to vocabulary, phrases, and mini-routines and may be a starting point for you. Please feel free to make individual matches of content and language to your particular child.

Step 4: We would like to gather feedback on the effectiveness of these materials for your instruction and how you used them. We ask that you complete the form for feedback and return it with the materials when you are finished or have a request from this office to return them. We are happy to make these materials or additional units available to you if you find them helpful. Your feedback information tells us that people are integrating certain strategies, that child progress is being made, data is being taken that helps programmers make instructional decisions, and that people are satisfied with instructional outcomes designed for young children with autism or related disorders.

THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE AUTISM SERVICES TOY LENDING LIBRARY FOR VERY YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM. Children approximately 2 years old through age six seem appropriate for these materials.