1. Understanding what you are observing as children play is fundamental to Learn to Play Therapy. Identify the play in the following scenario:

A child is crouching on the ground manipulating a stick and a leaf. The child then grabs a figurine they had dropped on the ground and places the figurine on the leaf in a sitting position with the stick carefully placed across the figurine’s legs. The child then moves the figurine, with the leaf and stick in a semi-circle and with delight, stops the leaf (with figurine and stick), and picks up a small pebble. The child says ‘caught you’ in a triumphant tone and places the pebble on the end of the stick and flicks the pebble onto the leaf. The child then moves to some loose dirt (about 1 metre from the figurine, leaf, stick and pebble) and moves their fingers through the dirt and is intrigued by the marks left in the dirt by their fingers.

As you observe the child playing, you note the following:

2. Particularly since the 1950s, there has been interest in understanding how children develop in their play ability. The research has been cross-cultural with several researchers concluding that the sequence of development is invariant. For example, children begin with one action in their play before they join several actions together in a logical sequence. Which of the following scenarios would not occur in a 2-year-old child’s play.

3. Children always need toys to play, otherwise it is not play.

4. What play skills are the following children demonstrating:

A 4-year-old child is watching 2 peers playing. After 5 minutes, the child approaches them and adds a suggestion to the play scenario being developed by the peers. The peers look at the child, look at each other, nod, and agree with the suggestion. The child then gets 2 boxes and pieces of cloth and comes back to join the peers. The three children construct a large boat out of the boxes and cloth. After a discussion, the 4-year-old child then fetches 2 chairs and suggests these could be added to the boat to make it bigger. Once the boat is constructed, the children get into the boat and set out on a voyage. On their voyage they meet other sailors (toy characters that were carefully placed near the boat); encounter a storm, which destroys part of the boat and necessitates repairs; find a new dinosaur; and make it back safely to land in the middle of the night. They agree to continue to play on following day as they have more adventures planned as well as an extension to their boat.

5. Pleasurable (or positive) emotional engagement of the child in play is evidence that the child is immersed in the play and more likely to be strengthening understanding and intentionality of their play.

6. Which of the following is not true for the Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist:

7. Children are less likely to show their full play ability if they do not feel safe. For the professional administration of the PPEDC, the professional creates an atmosphere of safety where the child feels safe to engage with the toys and play materials. Which of the following would you NOT do during a PPEDC assessment:

8. During administration of the PPEDC, you respond to the child. You may respond to the child by:

9. The scoring of the PPEDC focusses on the quality and complexity of the child’s play. Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the therapist/practitioner’s approach to scoring.

10. Interpretation of the PPEDC gives an understanding of where and how to begin to engage the child in meaningful play for that child. Interpretation of the PPEDC involves:

11. All children benefit from Learn To Play Therapy.

12. Learn To Play Therapy is a therapeutic approach designed to support a child’s self-initiation of pretend play. Pretend play goes by many names such as: imaginative play, make-believe play, symbolic play, representational play, thematic fantastic play, socio-dramatic play, dramatic play, role play. Pretend play has infinite play possibilities and can take many different forms, such as, tea-parties with a teddy, pushing a train of people, flying to a holiday destination, dancing a toy character, setting up a tree house with a friend, designing a building. Pretend play overlaps in development with sensory-motor play and not all children develop the ability to pretend in play. Pretend play ability is impacted by a child’s internal ability as well as external environmental factors.

13. Learn To Play Therapy focusses on supporting a child to develop meaningful, intentional play for themselves. This involves the ability of the child to self-initiate their own intentional play ideas. This is important because:

14. A core principle of Learn To Play Therapy is that it is child-centred. This means:

15. The principles of Axline, Porges, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, and the research on the neurobiology of play inform the processes of Learn To Play Therapy. These processes have been honed through decades of clinical work and resulted in the identification of techniques to support children’s ability to engage joyfully in play. Which of the following answers most accurately reflects techniques used by therapists/practitioners in Learn To Play Therapy:

16. In Learn To Play Therapy the therapist/practitioner co-regulates with the child throughout the session. Co-regulating means responding constantly to the child. The flow of the therapeutic process can involve which of the following:

17. It is now accepted that the brain is experience dependent. Pretend play is an ability. The implications of this are that the quality of therapy does matter and a child’s ability in play can change and become more complex.

18. From your readings, the pre-workshop modules, Chapter 3 in the 2021 Learn to Play Therapy book, and the live training (either online or face to face), you will have gained knowledge that pretend play is linked with language, implicit social understanding, narrative, self-regulation, problem solving, counterfactual reasoning, insight, flexibility and coping. Based on this knowledge, which of the following is relevant to Learn To Play Therapy:

19. Understanding the child’s play ability is also understanding that child’s internal model of how to play with toys or objects. The cerebellum is involved in building internal models at a subconscious level. Some children begin Learn To Play Therapy with no internal models of how to play with a vehicle or toy character.  Select the most appropriate answer for how to begin therapy with a child with no internal models of playing with these toys.

20. Learn To Play Therapy is child-centred at its core. It is the relationship between you and the child that is as important as your knowledge on how to support the child in play so the child’s increasing ability to engage in more complex play is rewarding and enjoyable. For many therapists/practitioners, this results in a big shift or new way of working. Your therapeutic use of self may need to shift and deepen. As you build your own skills, your experiences in the therapeutic process may change your brain by