As many clinicians are already well aware of how to incorporate playful elements in the preparation phase, we will focus on phases 3-8. The importance of a developmentally sensitive, prop-based approach in working with the youngest children goes beyond the need to engage children in active participation within the zone of tolerance. The conceptualization of incorporating play goes to the heart of the Adaptive Information Processing model itself, inasmuch as we understand that very young children learn best through play, and that the portals through which they can access learning are not merely (and perhaps not primarily) auditory and visual but must include the tactile and kinesthetic. This understanding must inform the therapist at every phase of the protocol.
Presenter: Paris Goodyear-Brown, LCSW