Yoga for Symbolic Play 113pose. To extend this activity, other children can pretend to set the
table by choosing miniature-sized items for the place setting—a
plastic fork, knife, spoon, and plate (Flynn 2013). Children who
are already familiar with the names of the poses could guess the
pose being performed by the child who chose it. In this procedure,
the child who correctly names the pose chooses the next item
from the bag. This activity could continue until all children have
had a turn or all items have been selected. The members of an
adult-child dyad could take turns practicing the pose selected
from the bag.
It is well established that many children with ASD are visual
learners. Picture symbols such as those available in yoga card decks
can serve as visual cues. Children with intellectual disabilities
would also benefit from having a concrete representation of poses,
such as miniature replicas, as this population has challenges in
abstract thinking. Adult models of poses can serve as a cue for
all children, including those with language disorders, intellectual
impairment, ASD, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(AD/HD).
Thematic content
The second dimension, thematic content, refers to the schemas and
scripts that are represented in play (Westby 2000). These develop
from familiar, everyday activities in which the child has been an
active participant (e.g. eating food) to less frequently occurring but
memorable events (e.g. visiting the doctor). The thematic content
of children’s play can include events they have experienced, those
they have observed, and eventually some which are invented. For
example, when children pretend to go to the doctor, they re-enact
a less frequently occurring event, but one that they would likely
have previously experienced. When children pretend they are