Playing as a child

Hi, my daughter is 11.5 and will play with baby dolls, she now has a few of the reborn type that were popular over the last couple of years. When younger, we would buy her character dolls like Ariel, Belle and Barbie but she never played with them. She would want LOL dolls as girls in her class had them but I didn't get the impression she really really wanted them herself, more because peers had them and once she had opened up the accessories and set the scene, she didn't play with them.

She was asked in her assessment whether she played with dolls and she said she didn't. Should I have explained she does but plays with baby dolls as if she is the mum and any other dolls she didn't really play with? I don't want to give wrong information.

Thanks for any insight into this question.

AlterEgo over 2 years ago

I was recently diagnosed at 62. When asked about play as a child I mentioned that I had 1 doll and that would dress and undress it and put it to bed. This seemed to be significant to the assessor and she noted it in my report. As someone else commented it’s what she’s doing with that doll that matters and as far as she’s concerned it’s not play, it’s roll play. I never experienced it as entertainment and there was certainly no imagination attached to it, although my imagination came out in other areas such as writing.
if she doesn’t consider it as play then it’s probably not. My description for what I used to do I think could better be described as activity.
Ann :) over 2 years ago

Hi- it’s not really the type of toy the child plays with that is relevant but the way in which the toy is played with, I think. I am autistic though I was only diagnosed months ago at age 25. I played with dolls as a child but I’ve now realised that I did this in quite an autistic way- I had these mini baby born dolls which came with these boxes with furniture that acted as rooms- I loved building different combinations of rooms and furnitures and yes I put a doll in each room too but I never did any role playing with the dolls and it wasn’t about the dolls at all- my play had more to do with building, patterns and collecting. I also had some other dolls especially one which I would dress etc. but also no role playing (and I also had a big dislike for barbies for some reason...)

I don’t think there is any right or wrong thing to say - Iain has given good advice, I think.

It will be really helpful for you and your daughter to know that she is autistic- I think it is best to know early as it helps understand why you are different and it will also give her a chance of learning how to best manage whether it is regarding energy levels, sensory issues etc.
Iain over 2 years ago

Catlady31 said:
She was asked in her assessment whether she played with dolls and she said she didn't. Should I have explained she does but plays with baby dolls as if she is the mum

I think this may be a situation where it is not so much her perspective that she is playing, but using the dolls to process and role play how she sees social interaction within the family group. It is quite possibly just her mind making sense of the rules that us on the Spectrum have to work so much harder than Neurotypicals to get to grips with.

If she says she is not playing then take her work on it - by all means quiz her a little on it to make sure she understands what playing actually means as it could also be a minsunderstanding on her part of this too.

It's tough being a child on the Spectrum and taking a bit of time to clarify both what you are asking and understanding her answer will help her.

I get the bit about wanting to have the same toys as the others in her peer group - at that age all you want to do is fit in and have a common dialogue and if she is on the Spectrum then she will already be at a disadvantage and seen as a bit "odd" by her peers.