Can someone please give me some examples of imaginative play

[sleepyhorse]

and does it include mimicking?

You need to be more specific in your question, do you mean imaginative play and how it relates to a particular special need?
How old is the child you are talking about?
Mimicking is not imaginative play if the child does not use it as a basis to develop their own version or variant on it.

Imaginative play is any free flowing pretending, using objects in place of other objects, eg a block may be a mobile phone, or a cardboard box may be a car. Just using a toy phone as a real phone isn't quite enough to be described as imaginative play in the ASD sense. Playing a game that involves pretending you are a mummy or a fireman etc in a scene you have made up yourself, so not just acting out something seen on TV. So mimicking is generally not considered imaginative play. Rigid playing of the same scene over and over is quite typical of ASD, especially if you can't get them to change the scene dramatically. Lots of children find comfort in routine and sameness, it's hard to recognise when it becomes excessive. HTH

Here's an extract from 'The Goblin Guide To Asperger's Syndrome'

'Difficulties with social imagination, imaginative play and flexible thinking.
This one causes some confusion as people say 'Well, he plays with his lego and makes up stories and has imagination, so...?'
It's the social aspect of imaginative play that can cause difficulties. If the child is in total control of their 'world' and setting the agenda, then they are being imaginative. AS children find it difficult to play when other individuals are involved that have different ideas or who don't perform as expected, unlike a lego or toy figure.'

One thing I have really noticed with DD2 is that she didn't pretend to be a dog or a cat, until DD3 started doing that and instigating games. DD1 was almost permanently pretending to be some kind of animal at 3/4/5, as DD3 does now.

I remember when DS was going through the tests for diagnosis. One of the first reports described him 'imaginatively playing' with some action men. They had written the dialogue and everything and at the time of reading i was a little shocked as he never played with toys at home apart from chucking them around the room etc. When we got home after the appointment DS put his favourite DVD on and it was then i realised he had actually memorised the script and was not IMAGINATIVELY PLAYING but reinacting a DVD.......even now, all DSs play is based on DVDs or programmes he has watched. When he 'plays' dr who with his sisters he is in control and will go mad if he cant find his sonic screw driver even when his sisters say its ok we can use a pen.....its not good enough......he cant use a toy mobile phone unless it still makes the noises, he just cant 'pretend'!

I remember ds2's SALT being thrilled when he took a toy car, filled it up with petrol at the toy garage pump, and drove it up the ramp to put it in the car park. After about the 20th exact repetition of this, her enthusiasm had worn off somewhat. :o

Real imaginative play is something that evolves and develops even if the basic storyline remains the same. Repeating a script can look imaginative to start with, but after a while you realise that it's actually more like a ritual.

Thanks. Don't really see my DS doing any of these examples that you have all mentioned. Worrying! But then I do wonder how much imaginitive play a non-speaking 2 year old can do. Think I am going to try and stop analyizing everything DS does/doesn't do for a while as I am going crazy. It's 4 weeks exactly now til we have the first appointment with the paed so going to keep myself busy til then. Thanks again for all your advice.

DS (4.10) recently started just putting his hand on his ear pretending to hold a mobile phone and calling either grandparents or DH and has a simple conversation which is 'Hello, how are you or where are you? blah blah blah See you soon. Bye'.

Another example of pretend or imaginative play in stages is:

1. Pretend to drink from an empty cup
2. Pretend to drink from another object such as lego or brick pretending to drink from a cup
3. The most advance stage is when they just pretend to be holding something in the air and making the sound to be drinking

Hope it gives you an idea. You can encourage your child to engage in imaginative play with dolls house where everyone eats dinner, watches TV, someone having a bath, then they go off in the family car to a picnic or put someone in an ambulance car pretending they are off to hospital etc. Once they get the hang of it they can go to the next stage where they pretend to be a teacher, doctor, vet etc which is a stage DS hasnt reached yet.

If your child is, say, alone, pretending to be a train, and is running along a fence opening and shutting his hands when he comes to a gap, then this could be imaginative play, or it could be repetative rigidity of thought, or it could be stimming.

If another child tries to follow behind as a 'carriage' for a while whilst they are going in one direction, and then suggests that they swap roles and your ds can do this easily, then it was imaginative play. If the said child can then suggest it is a space train with wings and your child goes along with it then it is imaginative. If your child then suggest that you go and 'park' behind some blocks in the 'space station' then it is imaginative.

Simply being a train on your own, is a good first start, but not really somewhere you can let a child stay confident in their imagination.

Well any play that a child assumes a role of something or somebody else whether its alone or with another child is imaginary play. My dd 4 who has possible ASD, social communication difficulties, speech and lang developmental delay, loves pretending she is a princess, she puts on her princess dress, crown and poses infront of her mirror, and tells me that "she is a pretty princess, and that she wants to marry a handsome prince like Cinderella", now for me that is a big thing as we thought that she would never do things like this, and in our view is imaginary play. She does not have a brother or sister so has to play mostly on her own or with me as a poor substitute . We invite other children from her preschool over and we go over to their house so she does have contact with children but not all the time.

DS 7 can play with his soldiers and initially it can look imaginative, but it is repetitive, if I suggest that my soldier can ride a lion or anything other than the norm he gets upset because I am spoiling the game. Imaginative play requires the theme to be expanded on.

I think imagination and rigidity are very closely linked, for example losing a game for ds is wounding, he reacts the same way every time and is distraught.I think this is because he cannot imagine the game playing out any other way than the one he has planned in his mind.

BUT at the same time I am not saying that he doesn't have an imagination just not in the NT ticking the imaginative play box kind of way, if that makes any sense at all :o

Everyones perceptions of imaginary play is different, dd does the same thing with the princess routine and sometimes adds different bits here and there, but is not really able to think outside the box unless someone helps her, still to us its imaginary play. Then again its horses for courses, each child is different and not every child will be into imaginary play, I don't remember doing it much myself until I was a lot older, until then I just liked dressing up and being in different outfits, I still don't have much imagination now, and cannot make up faboulous stories off the cuff like some people do.

Imaginary play is the first step to role play, which is a stepping stone to negotiation and arguing your way through life by following someone elses thread/motivations and being able to 'imagine' their non-specified motives.

It doesn't matter whether children 'like it' much, it is an extremely important skill that leads to the ability to be independent and not vulnerable as adults and as such it should be practised.

Hi everyone. This is interesting. I had to do some research into imagination. There's loads on it and lots of opinions, but one in common... imagination relates to a person mentally using information not presently available to the senses.

My ds (9 yrs), diagnosis AS, is now quite developed in imaginary play, and does it with his sister (7 yrs). He sometimes wants her to repeat a line like a script, but she doesn't always and this has helped him develop.

I agree with StarlightMcKenzie. It's a really important skill for all sorts of reasons. E.g. if I can't imagine how something might affect either me or someone else it can lead to all sorts of difficulties.