Hide and seek is a classic childhood game that most toddlers enjoy. It involves one child hiding while the others search for them. This back-and-forth dynamic builds anticipation and excitement. For autistic toddlers, however, hide and seek may be more complex. Many autistic children have trouble with pretend play, understanding social cues, and regulating their emotions. These factors can influence how autistic toddlers experience hide and seek.
Do autistic toddlers understand how to play hide and seek?
Autistic toddlers may struggle to comprehend the back-and-forth nature of hide and seek. Pretend play is often difficult for autistic children because it involves conceptual thinking and imagination. To play hide and seek, one must understand that the hider is “hiding” even though they are still present in the room. This abstraction can frustrate autistic toddlers who interpret situations in concrete, literal terms. They may not grasp that the point is to conceal oneself and be found. Autistic toddlers may also have trouble separating hide and seek from actual experiences of someone disappearing. The line between pretend versus real is often blurred for them. However, with time and practice, many autistic toddlers can learn to engage in pretend play like hide and seek. Structured teaching and modeling by parents and therapists helps autistic children acquire pretend play skills.
Do autistic toddlers enjoy the anticipation?
A major aspect of hide and seek is the anticipation and suspense it builds. Spotting hidden friends elicits thrills of discovery. Neurotypical toddlers delight in both seeking and being sought after. They enjoy playing along with the uncertainty. But for autistic children, uncertainty provokes anxiety, not excitement. Many autistic toddlers have trouble regulating their emotions and coping with situations outside of their control. The unpredictability of hide and seek may actually distress them. They may prefer activities with set sequences they can expect. However, some higher-functioning autistic toddlers can handle the anticipation of hide and seek, especially once they grasp the sequence of hiding and finding. Their capacity for coping with uncertainty develops over time like other cognitive skills.
Do autistic toddlers understand social cues during hide and seek?
Picking up on social cues is also integral to smoothly playing hide and seek. Toddlers must recognize social signals like facial expressions that indicate someone spots them while hiding. They also need to realize that finding a hider elicits congratulations, not ignoring them. Many autistic toddlers struggle to interpret social cues from verbal tone, body language and facial expressions. They miss subtle messages that provide context during social games. Trouble understanding social cues may cause autistic toddlers to misinterpret reactions from others during hide and seek. They may mistake cheers for being found as distress at being seen. With support and guidance from adults, autistic children can become more attentive to social cues during interactive games.
Do autistic toddlers enjoy social interaction through hide and seek?
Social motivation is a key component of hide and seek. Neurotypical toddlers take pleasure in playing together and experiencing joint attention. Many autistic children, however, show less interest in sharing experiences with others. Differences in social orienting, communication skills and sensory sensitivities may decrease autistic toddler’s social reward from hide and seek. They may prefer playing alone rather than taking turns hiding and seeking with others. But autistic toddlers have varying degrees of social motivation. More socially inclined autistic toddlers may still gain enjoyment from the cooperative aspects of hide and seek. Their weaker social drive may require more adult facilitation to sustain joint engagement.
How do autistic toddlers handle losing in hide and seek?
Another social layer of hide and seek involves winning and losing. Neurotypical toddlers start learning to handle disappointment from losing and congratulate winners. For autistic toddlers, managing these emotions may prove overwhelming. Difficulty regulating emotions combined with low social drive diminishes their coping skills. A neurotypical toddler spots them while hiding or finds them first as seeker may distress autistic toddlers and spur meltdowns. They may require more preparation before playing hide and seek competitively, if they can handle it at all. Praising autistic toddlers for each successful turn regardless of “winning” or “losing” creates a more encouraging environment.
Do autistic toddlers enjoy being the hider or seeker?
Neurotypical toddlers often enjoy both hiding and seeking, embracing either role. Each allows them to experience suspense from different angles. Autistic toddlers, however, may have a strong preference for hider or seeker. Hiding provides escape from social interaction, reducing anxiety. But seeking demands increased social awareness to find others, creating stress. An autistic toddler may adamantly insist on only hiding or seeking each round due to their social and emotional challenges. Flexibility improves over time with support, but allowing autistic toddlers to stick to one role helps them warm up to the game. Parents can then gradually encourage switching roles.
Conclusion
Hide and seek highlights developmental differences between autistic and neurotypical toddlers. Challenges with pretend play, social interaction, emotional regulation and flexibility can impact autistic toddlers’ enjoyment. But with modifications and guidance from caring adults, many autistic toddlers can get comfortable with hide and seek. Starting off simple, using visual cues, sticking to predictable routines and providing praise builds confidence. Autistic toddlers may require more time and practice to grasp the intricacies of hiding, seeking and interacting within the game. But ultimately, most autistic toddlers can learn to appreciate the thrills of both finding and being found. Although it may not come as instinctually as neurotypical peers, autistic toddlers can come to like hide and seek too.
References
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