ASAP Manual I – Assessment and Intervention – Provides an overview of ASAP, the assessments used to determine a child’s skills and goals, and an explanation of the interventions.
S4. Child uses one toy/object to represent or stand for another.
Description: This occurs when the child uses an object/toy to represent something else. Using an object to stand for a different object shows the child is starting to understand that objects can symbolize something else in play routines.
Skill Levels across Four Categories of Play
The hierarchies of play visually represent the order in which these skills develop, and the corresponding ASAP goals and objectives to help children build each level of communication and play.
Download Play HierarchyWhat is Symbolic Play?
Symbolic play involves pretending or using imagination. At a simple level, when a toddler pretends to stir in a bowl that is actually empty, she is pretending that there is something in the bowl. Or when a preschooler picks up a cardboard tube and swings it in front of him like a sword, he is pretending that the cardboard tube is something different from what it actually is. A kindergartner who swoops around pretending to be a superhero defeating the bad guys is also showing symbolic play skills.