@inproceedings{8695928,
  abstract     = {{Playing 2gether with a PLAY Suitcase”: an approach to promote participation and play for infants who are at risk for developmental delays.

Marieke Coussens1,2,

1School of Occupational Therapy, Artevelde University College Ghent, Belgium. Marieke.coussens@arteveldehs.be
2Department of Physical therapy and motor rehabilitation, University of Ghent, Belgium. M.coussens@ugent.be, 

Background:
Participation is essential for children’s development. Limitations in playing may endanger participation skills and enhance the risk of learning problems because play is viewed as central to learning in the early years. Infants at risk for a developmental delay may play less leading to limitation in their participation. Interventions enhancing ‘playfulness’ seem necessary. However, play is an extremely difficult phenomenon to define and has presented significant challenges to early childhood educators.  Occupational therapists are challenged to provide support to early childhood educators in order to help infants play and participate to the fullest of their potential.
Method:
Educational design research was used to ensure the practical relevance of our study. The “Playing 2gether with a PLAY suitcase”-intervention was developed by integrating state-of-the-art knowledge from prior research into the design process and by fine tuning educational innovations based on piloting in the field. The Leuven Involvement Scale, Functional Emotional Assessment Scale and Sensory Profile were used to coach early childhood educators  to observe an infant’s unique sensory processing patterns and social emotional functioning from a position of strengths. This lead to the development of an individually tailored PLAY suitcase an approach meeting the infant’s needs.
Results:
“Playing 2gether with a PLAY Suitcase” leads to more involvement and higher levels of well-being and subsequent independent play in infants. 
Application to practice:
Using “Playing 2gether with a PLAY suitcase” helps early childhood educators to tailor their support better.}},
  author       = {{Coussens, Marieke and Sienaert, Helena and Bracke, Giselinde and Coesens, Carolien}},
  booktitle    = {{COTEC ENOTHE Congress 2016, Abstracts}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Galway Ireland}},
  publisher    = {{COTEC-ENOTHE 2016}},
  title        = {{Playing together with a PLAY suitcase : a method designed with and for early childhood educators in order to promote participation and play for infants who are at risk for developmental delays}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}