Play Interventions for Neurodivergent Children and Adolescents

Book excerpt: This revamped second edition provides several play interventions designed to address a variety of common mental health needs that neurodivergent children face, such as social navigation, regulation, relationship development, anxiety issues, identity struggles, and self-advocacy. Completely reorganized and with the addition of several new chapters, the book begins with a thorough presentation of how and why structured interventions are used with neurodivergent children. Special focus is given to understanding neurodivergence, relationship and rapport building, therapy planning and goal setting, how to create a structured play intervention, the therapeutic powers of play, the role and level of involvement of the therapist, theory integration, avoiding ableist practices, and parent involvement. The second half of the book covers a wide selection of play therapy interventions for use with neurodivergent children and adolescents. The structured interventions focus on need areas related to social navigation, emotional expression, regulation, sensory processing, connection and relationship development, executive functioning, strengths, self-advocacy, and identity. These structured play therapy interventions designed uniquely for neurodivergent children and adolescents will be valuable resources for any mental health professional working with neurodivergent youth.