IVDU Long Island provides ongoing professional development opportunities to staff to enhance their work with students. This month’s workshop focused on the importance of play and how to increase the quality of play in children of all ages. Play is an integral part of child development and a precursor for many learning opportunities, thereby necessitating students to engage in developmentally appropriate play. Many children need assistance with their play, especially imaginary and symbolic play, requiring adult facilitation. During the workshop, staff learned how to assess every child’s present level of play in order to inform proper intervention and facilitating. Throughout the next few months staff will continue to learn about different play modalities and how to embed them into daily activities.
