Play is an important developmental process that facilitates growth in intellectual, linguistic, emotional, and social areas.
Toy play and peer interactions are two aspects of social development that often need to be targeted for intervention in children with autism.
Play skills emerge in a developmental sequence that begins with the simple manipulation of objects and extends to complex imaginative schemes with objects.
The ability to interact with peers unfolds in a specific developmental sequence that begins with solitary play and progresses to more cooperative and reciprocal play activities.
With appropriate training, typically developing peers can be effective agents of intervention for children with autism.