ABSTRACT
This chapter provides explanations about the types of play activities that should be recorded and those activities that should not be recorded. Central to the DPA-P is the evaluation of spontaneously occurring play activities as an expression of what the child knows. Therefore, the chapter presents detailed distinctions among spontaneous, prompted, and imitative activities. We provide examples of what caregivers do to help distinguish spontaneous from prompted and imitative activities. We regard activities that the child does in response to directions from the caregiver (i.e., prompted activities) and activities in imitation of what the caregiver does, as activities that are not to be counted in the evaluation. This chapter also details the caveats for recording activities, which include guidelines for coding attempts, accidental occurrences, and repetitions. Finally, procedures for identifying and coding sequences of play activities are provided. Our purpose is to make very clear the nature of activities that should be included in an evaluation with the DPA-P to minimize potential confusion.
