Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of symbolic play intervention on the communication behavior of two children with profound mental retardation (1 boy, CA 8:5, MA 2:2, IQ 26:1 girl, CA 10:2, MA 2:8, IQ 26). The children were trained to perform a sequence of "pretend behaviors." In Training 1-1, the play was "making fried noodles"; in Training 1-2, "curry rice," "broiled fish," "making sandwiches," and "fried eggs." In Training 2, the play was "tooth brushing." The prompt package consisted of instructions and modeling provided when the children did not perform according to the set script. The results were as follows: (1) When the children spontaneously performed a sequence of pretend behaviors, their pretend play increased. (2) When pretend play increased, pragmatic use of language was facilitated, but the syntactic aspects did not vary.
