Mothers' Perceptions of the Toy Play of Preschoolers with Intellectual Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine mothers' perceptions of the toy play of their preschool children with intellectual disabilities. Participants were 57 mothers of children aged 2 to 5 years. Each mother completed a 16-item questionnaire that focused on the characteristics of the toy play in which her child engaged. Data are presented descriptively and with respect to the significance of differences between response percentages. The majority of mothers reported that their children not only engaged in appropriate play with toys, but that their children engaged in advanced levels of play. Mothers also reported that their children would play with toys for extended periods of time during a given day, would play with a combination of toys, and needed little, if any, prompting to engage toys. Such reports stand in sharp contrast to much of the extant play literature and provide a rarely examined, yet invaluable, parent perspective. The implications for the use of parent reports is discussed.