A Comparison of Reactive and Nonreactive Toys on Severely Handicapped Children's Manipulative Play

Abstract

A concurrent schedule design was used to compare the effects of three commercial reactive toys and three nonreactive toys on the estimated amount of time three severely handicapped children engaged in manipulative activity and visual attention to toy play. The reactive toys used were capable of producing sound and/or sustaining motion as a consequence of manipulation. The nonreactive toys were identical to the reactive ones, however they were modified to eliminate or restrict their sensory feedback features. On each daily nine minute session, each subject was exposed to three pairs of toys presented in succession; each toy pair consisted of one reactive toy and its nonreactive toy counterpart. The results indicated that in comparison to the nonreactive toys, the reactive toys had a substantially greater influence on the amount of time each of the three subject children engaged in manipulative activity. The comparative effects of the two toy classes on visual attention to toy play were inconclusive. This study is discussed within the context of making appropriate toy selections for severely handicapped children.