Stock Social-Emotional Play Themes for Pretend Play

Use the following stock social emotional themes as targets in multiple exemplar training for social problem solving and conflict negotiation. These are designed to be used in Verbal Behavior Natural Environment Teaching (VB NET)/Floortime pretend play sessions, in combination with multiple exemplars of other stock play elements.

1. Nurturance, Closeness and Dependency

Going to bed routine, snuggling in bed Eating and cooking food Taking care of someone who is sick or hurt Someone is upset or sad and needs soothing Someone is grumpy and needs cheering up Someone is scared and needs comfort Making someone laugh Being a good friend

2. Pleasure, Excitement, Adventure and Humor

Going to get ice cream, cake, fries Going to the store Going to the zoo Going to the playground (outside but dont use that word) Going to the beach Going to the moon Gong to the pool Going to school Going to a birthday party Going to Grandma and Grandpas house Jumping on the trampoline or bed Climbing trees Catching stars Flying airplane, helicopter, being a fairy, pixie dust, etc. Playing Duck, Duck, Goose Playing Flashlight Playing hide and seek Surprising/scaring some one BOO!

3. Danger, Bodily Injury and Repair

Bodily Injury & Repair
Sick in bed Getting burned with kitchen toys Food is too hot, tongue is burnt, find cold drink Call the doctor, ambulance and police Nurse helps the doctor Go to the hospital, hospital stay Operation 1
Theresa Gischler & Katherine Lancaster. Expanded upon materials by Tamara Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, Vincent Carbone, PhD, BCBA-D and associates, and The Child with Special Needs: Encoura ging In t ellectual and Emotional Growth, by Stanley Greenspan & Serena Wieder.

Injured body part broken arm, broken leg Hurt leg so cant walk

Broken Fix It
Car crash, mechanic fixes it Pool has a hole fix it with tape (Maisys Pool) Ladder broken, phone doesnt work

Danger
Fall off the moon - die Alligators in the water theyll bite/eat Dinosaurs running after you bite/eat you Cant swim drowning, need help Witch kidnap you, cast a spell on you, steal your stuff Natural disaster fire, flood, earthquake, thunder storms, twisters/tornadoes

4. Curiosity, Mystery and Clues

What happens if I do this? I wonder if she wants a pie? I wonder if she wants a pie in her face? I wonder what the teacher would do if Treasure hunt - Searching for hidden treasure Bear hunt Exploring new spaces or new lands Flying to the moon as an explorer Riding my bike to China What is that sound? Who do you hear? Witchs shoe a clue left that someone is in the vicinity What do you think Stan wants? Dark and cant see Where are we? Where are we going? Sneaking up on someone, trying to be quiet so you dont get discovered Being invisible using an invisibility cloak Blues Clues - Finding clues and figuring it out Finding a riddle/clue left by someone for you to problem solves Scavenger hunt

5. Power and Assertiveness

Power
Magical powers Fairy dust Magic wand make someone disappear Magic words Making wishes Flying with pixie dust Making a toy unusually powerful Pretending to be a giant 2
Theresa Gischler & Katherine Lancaster. Expanded upon materials by Tamara Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, Vincent Carbone, PhD, BCBA-D and associates, and The Child with Special Needs: Encoura ging In t ellectual and Emotional Growth, by Stanley Greenspan & Serena Wieder.

Pretending to be a dinosaur that is more powerful or bigger than the others Good guys vs. Bad guys (Why good? Why bad?) dinosaurs, witches, giant??? vs. us Big/Little big truck/little truck, Big Bad Wolf/Giant, vs. little boy/girl, Dinosaurs vs. people or small animals, Lion vs. mouse Many/few lots of bad guys vs. only a few good guys Peter Pan vs. the pirates Community workers who are authority figures policemen, doctors, etc. Teacher Papa and Mama

Assertiveness
I dont want to. I dont want to eat that. I want to play something different I dont like that. Being the boss, the parent, the sheriff, the policeman, the teacher, the babysitter, the principal, etc. Little dog tells the big dog what to do Making up for lack of control in real life. When your child sets limits on characters in play, she may be: trying to control her own strong feelings Identifying limits imposed by others giving herself power through play

6. Manners, Limit Setting and Consequences

Manners
Asking nicely vs. whining Talking softly vs. yelling Being nice versus being mean Taking turns trampoline, pool, slide Sharing food, scarves, magic wand, pixie dust not enough of any valued item Cleaning up after yourself Chores

Limit Setting and Consequences

Bad guys go to jail Time outs for poor behavior Characters go away for poor behavior Characters go to bed early for poor behavior Toys get put away, activities get stopped for bad behavior No attention and Count & Mand if characters are naughty while eating Breaking toys = no playing Not picking up toys = top cupboard

7. Anger and Aggression

NOTE: This is the safe and only acceptable way to express this impulse

Aggression
Soldiers battling sword fight Animals fighting/killing each other 3
Theresa Gischler & Katherine Lancaster. Expanded upon materials by Tamara Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, Vincent Carbone, PhD, BCBA-D and associates, and The Child with Special Needs: Encoura ging In t ellectual and Emotional Growth, by Stanley Greenspan & Serena Wieder.

Cars crashing Bullies Steal Put spells on you Kidnap Hide things Turn people against you Yelling Throw things at you Kill

Anger
Characters get angry Characters that hate each other Replay angry/upset events from real life Unfair situationsdidnt get something, so get mad Being grumpy, having a bad day, everything goes wrong Getting mad at someone because they are messy or have no manners Someone wont share, so you get mad Someone wont compromise, so you get mad

8. Fear and Anxiety

Being scared of specific things band-aids, tape, creaking doors Heights Dark Water Fires Storms, hurricane, tornado Snakes Crocodiles and alligators Big/Little fish are scared of whales The witch Scary Guys Ghosts, monsters, giants Big bad wolf Loud noises (fire alarm, lion roaring, etc.) Being alone, being lost

9. Love, Empathy and Concern for Others

Becoming friends Having a group of friends Being a team Playing house being a family Helping each other Eating together Falling in love and getting married Negotiating fearful situations together 4
Theresa Gischler & Katherine Lancaster. Expanded upon materials by Tamara Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, Vincent Carbone, PhD, BCBA-D and associates, and The Child with Special Needs: Encoura ging In t ellectual and Emotional Growth, by Stanley Greenspan & Serena Wieder.

Helping someone in new situations new kid in school, first time swimming, etc.

10.

Independence
Figuring out something yourself Being big enough/old enough to take on a responsibility Chores Work Money Going somewhere alone Being a big girl/boy Reading on your own Writing on your own

11.

Loss, separation, exclusion and rejection

Getting lost Cant find mom Getting help when youre lost Mama and Papa going away on a trip Being away from home, trying to go home, being homesick - Dorothy in Oz, Little Bear, etc.

Loss and Separation

Exclusion and Rejection

Friends having a fight Someone doesnt want to play with you Former friends not being your friend anymore Being left out of a group Being teased by others Being ignored my someone Not being invited somewhere Being the odd one out Stellaluna, Ugly Duckling Being in a foreign country with foreign language, food, etc.

12.

Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution

Friends having a fight and making up Bullying Fighting Unfairness Not sharing Someone is mean See document Stock Problems for Pretend Play

Conflicts and Problems

Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution

What else can you do generating ideas to solve the problem Trying out different ideas for solving the problem persistence 5
Theresa Gischler & Katherine Lancaster. Expanded upon materials by Tamara Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, Vincent Carbone, PhD, BCBA-D and associates, and The Child with Special Needs: Encoura ging In t ellectual and Emotional Growth, by Stanley Greenspan & Serena Wieder.

Solving a problem by yourself figuring it out by yourself Solving a problem together figuring it out together, thinking together Cooperation solving the problem as a team, everyone carries it out Compromising coming up with a plan so that everyone gets a little bit of what they want Sharing something when there is not enough to go around Fixing something that is broken See document Stock Solutions for Pretend Play

13.

Identifying & Handling Feelings, Self-Regulation, Awareness of Others

Being able to identify your own & others feelings Incredible 5-Point Scale - Calming down and regulating your emotions Calm down ritual Helping someone else calm down and regulate their emotions Go to the Thinking Spot to solve the problem Negotiation - Stopping the play to talk about a conflict Lets talk about it! conflict negotiation card Lets play something different card I want and I dont want cards Going to bed when you are too tired and have had enough Asking for help Empathy for someone Giving something to someone Listening to someone

6
Theresa Gischler & Katherine Lancaster. Expanded upon materials by Tamara Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, Vincent Carbone, PhD, BCBA-D and associates, and The Child with Special Needs: Encoura ging In t ellectual and Emotional Growth, by Stanley Greenspan & Serena Wieder.