Purpose Play is a critical aspect of children's development, and researchers have long argued that symbolic deficits in play may be diagnostic of developmental disabilities. This study examined whether deficits in play emerge as a function of developmental disabilities and whether our perceptions of play are colored by differences in language and behavioral presentations. Method Ninety-three children participated in this study (typically developing [TD]; n = 23, developmental language disorders [DLD]; n = 24, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]; n = 26, and autism spectrum disorder [ASD]; n = 20). Children were videotaped engaging in free-play. Children's symbolic play (imagination, organization, elaboration, and comfort) was scored under conditions of both audible language and no audible language to assess diagnostic group differences in play and whether audible language impacted raters' perception of play. Results Significant differences in play were evident across diagnostic groups. The presence of language did not alter play ratings for the TD group, but differences were found among the other diagnostic groups. When language was audible, children with DLD and ASD (but not ADHD) were scored poorly on play compared to their TD peers. When language was not audible, children with DLD were perceived to play better than when language was audible. Conversely, children with ADHD showed organizational deficits when language was not available to support their play. Finally, children with ASD demonstrated poor play performance regardless of whether language was audible or not. Conclusions Language affects our understanding of play skills in some young children. Parents, researchers, and clinicians must be careful not to underestimate or overestimate play based on language presentation. Differential skills in language have the potential to unduly influence our perceptions of play for children with developmental disabilities.

中文翻译：

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在有和没有发育障碍的儿童中检查语言在游戏中的作用。

目的游戏是儿童发育的关键方面，研究人员长期以来一直认为游戏中象征性缺陷可能是发展性残疾的诊断。这项研究检查了游戏缺陷是否会因发育障碍而出现，以及我们对游戏的看法是否因语言和行为表现形式的差异而有色。方法共有93名儿童参加了这项研究（通常为发展中[TD]； n = 23，发育性语言障碍[DLD]； n = 24，注意力缺乏/多动障碍[ADHD]； n = 26，自闭症谱系障碍[ ASD]； n = 20）。给孩子们录制了免费游戏的录像带。儿童的象征性游戏（想象力，组织力，精心制作，和舒适度）是在有声语言和无声语言的条件下进行的，以评估诊断小组在游戏中的差异以及可听语言是否影响评分者的游戏感。结果各诊断组之间的游戏差异明显。语言的存在并没有改变TD组的游戏等级，但是在其他诊断组之间发现了差异。当可以听到语言时，与TD同伴相比，患有DLD和ASD（而非ADHD）的儿童在游戏中得分较低。在听不见语言的情况下，感觉到DLD的孩子比听得见语言的孩子玩得更好。相反，患有多动症的儿童在无法获得语言支持时表现出组织缺陷。最后，患有ASD的儿童无论语言是否可听都表现出较差的游戏表现。结论语言会影响我们对某些幼儿游戏技能的理解。父母，研究人员和临床医生必须小心，不要低估或高估基于语言表现的游戏。语言方面的差异技能可能会不适当地影响我们对发育障碍儿童的游戏观念。