Imaginary play DD age 6

[Fiona80]

So a bit of general background, DD1 age 6 had quite bad speech delay when younger but is fine now, doing well at school etc. Has just finished speech and language therapy but a different therapist who only seen her once at her last session has mentioned her play is a bit rigid and now being sent for an autism assessment. Which has shocked me to be honest, can't absorb this and haven't been able to sleep properly.

What do your 6 year olds play with or do in terms of imaginary play? And arts n crafts?

She is very active, loves playing on her bike, trampoline, hula hooping, gymnastics, playing catch and hide and seek. Other than physical activity she likes doing puzzles playing on the ipad, watching tv and plays with her disney dolls( but only for 5-10 mins), is this unusual? Although she will watch Barbie, frozen etc. for hours if allowed. She also enjoys reading.

So main concern is imaginary play. I have never worried about it before as she has always kept herself busy.

Also enjoys board games like snakes and ladders.

My DS was diagnosed with ASD at age 5. He has extremely imaginative play, more so than other children his age. I know other boys his age who do not have ASD and don't seem to play imaginatively at all. So don't dwell on this aspect too much. Autism can present in very different ways.

How does she interact with other children her age? Does she make and keep friends easily? How does she manage at school and at home?

Have a look at this website, it's quite good www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/asperger.aspx

Hi there. I'm by no means an expert, however I have seen both sides of this.

My oldest daughter (now 21) has Aspergers and she had difficulty with imaginative play. When she would play she would basically mimic the storylines of books or movies. Or she would copy things that other children had done that she found funny, but she would copy them repeatedly. She seemed unable to invent the stories herself.

I have had 4 daughters since then, and the way that they play is very different. They may choose to play as characters from books or movies occasionally, however they will make up the stories themselves. Also they are flexible enough to adapt to the imagination of others with whom they are playing, and can expand on a joint imaginary storyline. This was well beyond the capabilities of my eldest.

DD very rarely takes part in imaginary play at home (she does when outside at the park with other children though) and prefers other activities as your DD does.

I really wouldn't worry some parents fight tooth and nail to get an assessment, if it turns out she doesn't have Autism then it'll do her no harm, but if she is on the spectrum then she will get help from a young age which is good.

I've a 5 year old daughter and my 4 year old niece has a speech delay. Toys that have encouraged their imaginative play - dress up clothes, cash register, toy kitchen, my little ponies, any doll/figures that come with a car/house etc - Lego sets are good - Lego Elves and especially Lego friends were brilliant. They watch an Lego friends then reenact the story with the figures.