EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
RESEARCH QUESTIONS - SET 1

NAME OF INTERN: ___________Claire Lucille H. Caresosa_____________ DATE: _8/2/23_

1. What is Piaget’s theory and stages of play?

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is reflected in how the child engages in different types
of play. These stages of play would also be indicative of how the child interacts with the
environment and the objects around it. The following are Piaget’s stages of play:
● Functional Play: this is the first stage of play that children experience as they explore the
environment and the toys using their senses and their bodies. By controlling these, the
children in this stage of play let them understand the toys and how they are played.
○ ex. Shaking rattle, banging toys together, bowling, etc.
● Constructive Play: this is the next stage of play that children experience when they start
to manipulate the toys or objects and use them to create something or to have a
purpose. Children at this stage would experiment and learn with the toys and materials
they will be exploring
○ ex. Stacking towers with legos, mosaic, making animals with clay, etc.
● Symbolic Play: this next stage of play is when children use pretend play or roleplaying.
Children at this stage would use other toys or objects to represent other ideas or
objects. This stage of play would also include formulation of scripts and dialogues.
○ ex. tea party with dolls, using banana toy as phone, toy plate as steering wheel
● Games with Rules: this last stage of play is when children can understand and comply
with the rules given or is natural in a game. Children with the cognitive capacity to
understand the rules would be the ones who can participate in this type of play.
○ ex. Simon Says, Uno, Jenga, etc.
2. What are the Parten’s Play Stages?
Parten’s Play stages would also focus on the levels of the child’s social development when it
comes to play. These are the following:
● Unoccupied Play: this stage of play usually is seen at birth to 3 months old. In this stage,
a child usually does random play activity, body exploration, or gross motor activities that
are sensorimotor in nature.
● Solitary independent Play: this stage of play usually is seen at 3 months to 2 ½ years old.
In this stage, a child would do voluntary play with their own toys and would not play
with other children. This would also entail exploration of the environment.
● Onlooker Play: this stage of play usually is seen at 2 ½ - 3 ½ years old wherein the child
just observes other children and would not play with them. Children would learn social
skills or social cues from observing from others.
 ● Parallel Play: this stage of play usually is seen at age 3 ½ - 4 years old wherein the child
plays near another child but they are not playing together. Children can also share
materials and play space, however, they would have different outputs.
● Associative Play: this stage of play is usually seen at age 4 - 4 ½ years old wherein the
child would play for the sake of playing with other children. Play activities may not have
a structure as it can change from time to time because the purpose is to engage with
peers or playmates.
● Cooperative Play: this stage of play is usually seen at age 4 ½ and above wherein the
child would share a common goal with other children. Children would understand each
other's side, compromise, and negotiate as they would reach the same goal and work as
a team.
3. What are Takata’s Level of Social interaction?
Takata’s Play Epochs are developmental stages of play progress. It also follows stages or
hierarchy and these are the following:
● Sensorimotor: this stage is usually seen at ages 0-2 years old wherein autotelic play with
sensations would take place. Exploring the body and the environment using sensations
and exploration of the object would appear in this stage. (ex. peek-a-boo, sound
producing toys, etc.)
● Symbolic and Simple Constructive: this stage is usually seen at ages 2-4 years old
wherein make-believe toys and pretend play such as engaging in roles with toys or other
people. Building simple constructions (manipulative play) that would represent another
object is also present. There is also a shift from solitary to parallel play.
● Dramatic, complex constructive, and pregame: this stage is usually seen at ages 4-7
years old wherein dramatic role play would consist of real life daily experiences, social
roles, and fairytales. Construction of toys are also more realistic and complex objects.
Simple game rules are also expected to be followed and understood in this stage. There
is also a shift from parallel to associative play.
● Game: this stage is usually seen at ages 7-12 years old wherein there is more fascination
in following the rules and making up new rules if needed. There is also risk taking in the
play activity as they would engage now in cooperative play which has one common goal
with the other playmates.
● Recreational: this stage is usually seen at ages 12-16 years old wherein there is the
intention of leisure and enjoyment in the play participation with peers. There is more
teamwork, cooperation, and respect for rules of the games. The play activities would
also challenge the skills of the child (i.e., competitive sports, clubs) as these would refine
their skills.
4. What are Neumann’s Criteria of play?
Neumann’s criteria of play are the elements that differentiate play from non-play and these
include the following:
● Internal Locus of Control: this refers to the criteria wherein the control of the play is
within the player. The player/child will have authority over the rules or structure of the
play activity.
● Internal Reality: this is the criteria when a player would shift or deviate from reality and
set own rules or structure of the play activity according to what he/she wants.
● Intrinsic Motivation: this is the criteria wherein the child voluntarily engages in play
activities as the purpose of the child is to really experience the play itself. The play
activity itself is self-rewarding.
5. What are Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development?
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development talks about how people develop their social skills
and how they handle social crises in different stages in life. These are as follows:
● Trust vs. Mistrust (Birth-18 months): basic virtue is hope and the important event is
nourishment and affection (basic needs should be met).
● Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (18 months-3 years): basic virtue is will and they will
start to develop a sense of independence.
● Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years): basic virtue is purpose and they will be taking initiative on
activities and develop guilt when the become unsuccessful.
● Industry vs. Inferiority (5-13 years): basic virtue is competence and they will be
developing confidence and competence.
● Identity vs. Confusion (13-21 years): basic virtue is fidelity and they will experiment with
and develop identity roles.
● Intimacy vs. Isolation (21-39 years): basic virtue is love and they are to establish
intimacy and form relationships with others.
● Generativity vs. Stagnation (40-65 years): basic virtue is care and they are to be part of
the family and contribute.
● Integrity vs. Despair (65 and older): basic virtue is wisdom and there is a desire to make
sense of life and look back at made contributions.

6. What is the pyramid of learning by Williams and Shellenberger / Taylor and Trott?

Below is the pyramid of learning by Taylor and Trott:

The pyramid of learning follows a hierarchy of the development of skills that would be starting
from the bottom to the top. The skills in the bottom or the foundation skills are needed to be
integrated for the higher-level skills to develop. This pyramid of learning is a good example of a
model to follow for a bottom-up approach.
● The bottom part of the pyramid is the central nervous system in which if all primitive
reflexes are integrated, this part of the hierarchy would most likely be developed. For
the sensory systems, these need to be intact and regulated enough for the child to be
able to perform other movements in the hierarchy. For the sensory motor development,
the child’s ability to plan movements would be intact and efficient if the child has
developed a good quality of sensory systems. For the perceptual motor movement, the
child’s perception of the environment and how they will act in a coordinated manner will
be dependent on their ability to plan movements well. For the cognition and intellect or
the higher level of the hierarchy, the ability to perform self-care activities, school-based
activities, and behavior will be dependent on the child’s intact or developed perceptual
motor skills.

7. Enumerate and describe the four quadrants of Sensory Integration

The four quadrants of sensory integration would be dependent on the interaction of the
neurological threshold continuum and the behavioral response continuum. The four quadrant
are as follows:
● Low Registration: this is the quadrant wherein the child has a high threshold (would
need a lot of input to feel the sensation) but is not actively seeking for sensory input.
 ● Sensory Seeking: this is the quadrant wherein the child has a high threshold (would
need a lot of input to feel the sensation) but is actively seeking for sensory input.
● Sensory Sensitive: this is the quadrant wherein the child has a low threshold (would feel
the sensation even with the slightest stimulation) but is not actively seeking for sensory
input.
● Sensory Avoiding: this is the quadrant wherein the child has a low threshold (would feel
the sensation even with the slightest stimulation) but is actively seeking for sensory
input.
8. How will you explain the neurological basis of SI to a parent whose child has autism?
In my own words, I will tell the parent that sensory integration is a process that is happening in
our nervous system, specifically when the brain sends signals to all parts of our body to create
movement. In the brain, there is a need to organize the information that is received from the
environment and once it becomes processed, that will help produce movements that are
efficient and goal-directed. So before we produce movements that are purposeful, it is because
our sensory systems are modulated and regulated. For clients within the spectrum, usually they
would have problems with their sensory integration, meaning that they have difficulty in
detecting, organizing, modulating, and/or processing the input they are getting from the
environment. This is the reason why sometimes their kid would not give appropriate or effective
actions because they might not have received appropriate sensory feedback.
9. What is motor planning?
Motor planning is the ability of the child to conceptualize, plan out, and perform the skilled
movement in an efficient manner. In the pyramid of learning, motor planning would be
developed if the child’s sensory systems are well-received, modulated, integrated, and
discriminated. The three processes of motor planning or praxis include: ideation, planning, and
output.
10. What is the neurodevelopment of motor learning? What are the pre-requisites skills to
achieve motor planning?
Our brain is responsible for carrying out actions effectively by organizing and processing the
information obtained from the environment. Once these are processed, the brain will send
signals to the parts of the body needed for the execution of the action. Using the pyramid of
learning, the pre-requisite skills for motor planning are those below the hierarchy (central
nervous system and sensory systems). Developed sensory systems are very much needed to
receive appropriate information from the environment that would be efficient for planning
motor movements.
11. What is the primary theoretical framework used to understand motor planning and
specific management strategies and give an example.
Dynamic Systems Theory emphasizes the collaboration between person, task, and environment
and how they affect daily functioning and motor activities. This framework also talks about how
we develop and learn new movements from what we got from our environment. The
interaction between these three factors greatly affect a child’s performance as well. A specific
management strategy is looking at which among the three factors is addressing one factor
among the three as it affects performance. For example, the child has AI hoping skills as he
doesn’t know how to hop. With this, the therapist can address the person factor and teach the
child how to hop for skill acquisition.
12. What is the relationship between motor planning and language development?
Using the pyramid of learning, motor planning is a prerequisite skill for cognitive development
and intellect. Exploring the environment and producing appropriate motor responses would
give the child an opportunity to also practice different skills that are needed for language
development. Children learn best from exploring and interacting with their environment and
being able to act efficiently with good or developed motor planning skills, children can also
learn more about language or cognitive skills.

13. Review the administration and implementation of the following assessment tools
a. Sensory Profile
b. Sensory Processing Measure
c. Erhardt Developmental Prehension Assessment (EDPA)
d. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
e. TVPS-R
f. DTVMI
g. Brigance Inventory Of Early Development

References:

Antoun, R. (2021). Dynamic Systems Theory of Motor Development: The Complete Guide for
Sports Rehab Professionals — NEUROPEDICS REHAB & MOVEMENT WELLNESS
CONSULTING COMPANY. NEUROPEDICS REHAB & MOVEMENT WELLNESS CONSULTING
COMPANY.
https://neuropedicswellness.com/blog-for-professionals-1/2021/3/17/dynamic-systems-
theory-of-motor-development-the-complete-guide-for-sports-rehab-professionals

Case-Smith, J. & O’Brien, J.C. (2009). Occupational Therapy for Children. 6th ed. St. Loius,
Missouri: Elsevier.

Kylie Rymanowicz, Michigan State University Extension. (2015). The power of play – Part 1:
Stages of play. Child & Family Development.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_power_of_play_part_1_stages_of_play
Orenstein, G. A. (2022, November 7). Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development. StatPearls -
NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/