Why does my child line up toys?

 

If you would have noticed, you would know that children love lining up their toys or placing objects in very specific ways. It may not necessarily make sense to an adult but it definitely makes complete sense to their little minds.  They find it best to have things a certain way, that if ever a parent tries to reorganize or upset their ‘pattern’, it may result in tears or screams of frustration, followed by a tantrum, even. Sometimes children position, order and arrange objects in very obsessive and rigid manners. For example, lining up things in order of size, colour or shape or even texture. Some children also like their food to be placed in a certain way on their plate and they can be very upset and react strongly & negatively if certain types of food are touching. 

Lining up things can be looked at, from a child's perspective, as organizing or sorting. When they put similar items close to each other in a row, or stack them one above the other, they are actually learning to group items together, probably based on type, colour, or shape. When they are stacking things, they learn how to balance things in such a way that they don't fall down.

Organizing and sorting are important steps in child development as they lay the foundation for developing math skills. Sorting teaches number concept, patterns, and problem-solving skills and in later life, leads to analysis of objects. When children learn analytical skills at a younger age, it prepares them for what they will see and do in early elementary school age.

In the everyday world, 'organizing' is a very important tool. It is this skill, when mastered, that helps children with the organization of classroom materials, school bags, etc and leads the way for executive functioning skills which can help them be better equipped for school, home , and later on, the workplace.

It is the Positioning Schema (which you may have read about in an earlier post) that a child is in, when he is always seen to be sorting and organizing. It is a phase and children grow out of it sooner or later, but sometimes they don't! Some children, especially children on the Autism spectrum, have an affinity for lining up toys or other objects. They can spend hours placing objects one after the other in a row, and never get tired of it. 

This was exactly the case with 5 year old 'D' too. D is a cute little boy I see at the clinic, with limited play skills. His mother was concerned that D did not interact with his cousins and always got upset when they tried to take anything from what he had so perfectly lined up.

D's mother's concern was genuine and justifiable. Yes, childhood is the time for exploration of their environment, but if the lining up and arranging of toys is limiting a child from playing with new things or in new ways, that is indeed something that should be of concern. D had his diagnostic evaluation done and was found to be on the Autism Spectrum.

"Why does my child always line up toys? He is only 5 but so selfish that he doesn't want to share. How can I teach him to be more kind and friendly?", Mom's tear-stained questions kept flowing out of her tired self. 

Why do children on the Autism spectrum play differently?

There may be many reasons and theories to this, but lets look at some of them.

Lack of imitation skills

Typically developing children love to imitate their adults and peers. They watch how other children play and try to copy. However, it is very unlikely for a child with Autism to observe the  actions of other children or adults and attempt doing the same as them because they may not even notice them.

Lack of symbolic play skills

Play provides a child his first opportunity to rehearse social interactions, try out novel ideas, play symbolically with toys and random objects, and develop skills necessary for later life. By about 3 years of age, most children would have developed the skill of engaging in pretend play either by themselves or in the company of others. Unfortunately, children with Autism rarely develop symbolic play skills without help.

Poor social communication skills

Social engagement and communication is key to develop imitation skills and to be successful in pretend play.  Children with Autism, sadly, do not possess this ability. They are seen to be 'self-centered' or as D's mother described, 'selfish'! Playmates and peers may find it hurtful to be ignored or not being able to share a toy with the child who has Autism. In some cases, children with Autism are ignored, scorned or even bullied.

Being 'stuck' in a particular stage of play

Typically toddlers engage in solitary play from time to time, but many of them quickly move on to parallel play. By around 2-3 years of age, they move into interactive and cooperative play forms. However toddlers with Autism often get 'stuck' in solitary play and engage in activities that may seem to others of no apparent meaning or purpose.

Being 'stuck' in a particular play schema

Children move on from one schema to another at their own pace. There is generally no particular order or timeframe for a schema to develop and fade off, and some children may miss a schema altogether. However some children, especially children with Autism, remain in a particular schema for a longer time, in D's case, the positioning schema. The reasons could be any of the above mentioned points or all of them together. 

Poor information processing

Individuals with Autism face difficulties understanding social cues, facial expressions and generalizing concepts from a structured setting into a more natural and spontaneous setting. This impairment in processing contextual information also affects the production and comprehension of language. That is why they are often found to be engaged in repetitive and stereotypical actions, and in known forms of play engagements, and cannot follow unfamiliar instructions or play modelling without help.

Inadequate flexible thinking skills

Cognitive abilities, language skills and executive functions such as self-control, adapting to different situations and mental flexibility all influence the development of play and its application to general settings. The fact that Autism affects all these domains makes it difficult for children to play with and like their peers.

Lack of joint attention skills

Joint attention is a skill that we use when we work alongside another person or a group of people. In children, a suitable example for joint attention would be sharing a game together, trying to solve a puzzle together, etc. Unfortunately this skill is lacking in children with Autism, which makes it difficult for them to 'share' or play in cooperation with other children.

So, can we teach play skills to children with Autism? ...if yes, how?

The good news is that it IS it possible to teach a child with autism to play, but it may take slightly more time an effort than you would to teach a new skill to a typically developing child.

Children with autism are very receptive to and extremely comfortable with structure and therefore the key is to use structured play activities with children on the autism spectrum. They are particularly useful when children are being taught skills of sharing, turn-taking, interacting, etc

The fact that structured play activities provide clear guidelines about what to do, how to do and when to do, makes them more predictable and manageable for children with autism. They also have clear start and end points, which can be tailored according to the child's tolerance. This structure can help the child understand the steps involved, skills required, and the activities or ideas that are needed to get to the end goal of the game. 

The child will be able to successfully interact and perform in this sort of stress-free setting, thus encouraging him to try out the skills he needs to meaningfully engage in, and develop through play.