Abstract
Autistic children use Outside School Hours Care Services (OSHC) on a regular basis. However, they experience many barriers to a fully inclusive experience. This study examined whether the use of the Play Cycle (King, 2020) held any value as a means of reducing those barriers to access. Four educators from an OSHC service in Brisbane, South East Queensland, Australia who were using the Play Cycle and Play Cycle Observation Method in their practice were interviewed to gain their perspectives on the ways in which the play cycle was valuable to them when working with autistic children. The responses were analysed using thematic techniques to reach conclusions on the research question and create recommendations which could be implemented to improve the experience of autistic children attending OSHC. Despite the small sample size used in this study, it is still believed that the results achieved are reliable and can contribute towards the inclusion of autistic children in OSHC services.
Recommended Citation
Cartmel, J., & Mackay, F. (2025). The Play Cycle, Outside School Hours Care and Autistic Children. International Journal of Playwork Practice, 5(1), Article 1. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijpp/vol5/iss1/11
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