Partner Influences on the Social Pretend Play of Children With Language Impairments

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the social pretend play and conversational behaviors of children with language impairment (LI) in dyadic interactions with peers. Method: The participants (aged 4;3 [years;months] to 6;2) were 3 boys with LI and 4 with typical language development (LN). In this multiple embedded case study, hypotheses regarding the sophistication of verbal interaction and social pretend play were developed and tested with respect to two cases. Each case consisted of five interactions—four involving a child with LI in dyadic play with peers (2 LI, 2 LN), and the last involving the 2 LN peers. The dyad types for each case were LI, mixed, and LN. Within each case, LI dyads were expected to perform less well than mixed dyads, who were, in turn, expected to perform less well than the LN dyad on measures of verbal interaction and social pretend play. Also, greater conversational success was expected in social pretend play than in other forms of play for all dyads. Results: For both cases, the results for verbal sophistication generally conformed to expectations for the dyad types. In contrast, social pretend play behaviors were inconsistent with expectations across dyads and cases. In all dyads, social pretend play yielded greater conversational success than other forms of play. The quality of play varied as a function of partner characteristics, such as responsiveness, theme knowledge, verbal skill, and adaptability. Clinical Implications: Clinicians are cautioned to ensure that evaluations of play in children with LI encompass multiple aspects of both play and conversation, as well as observation of children with multiple partners. Likewise, in planning interventions, it may be important to address both play and verbal behaviors and to incorporate opportunities for interaction with multiple partners.