Reviews

REVIEW BY CONSULTANT PAEDIATRICIAN from NEWSLETTER

to Child Development and Disability Teams and Paediatricians across the UK Child Development and Disability Group of the British Association for Community Child Health May 2003 Issue 8 page 6M

POKIT: Play Observation Kit

We were sent a POKIT set nearly a year ago. We have not used it as extensively as we would have wished but we have slowly acquired some experience. The designers describe POKIT as a useful tool to assess play in children from the age of 12 - 48 months.

There are 470 observable behaviours, each with age guides. POKIT involves the parent in the assessment process and makes use of the parent’s knowledge of the child.

Play observation can yield information about social interaction of the child and its designers claim that considered together with qualitative play, can give clues to diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

POKIT itself is thoroughly explained by a 200-page book along with a CD-ROM. Use is made of common day-to-day toys. In our Developmental Assessment Unit, an assistant Psychologist video-recorded play, usually lasting an hour for each child.

Then these tapes were jointly observed with the Consultant Paediatrician and Community Paediatrician.
We felt it was necessary to take written permission to use POKIT in each case as it involved video-taping. There was some sensitivity around this and videotape storage. There were a lot of points to be ticked in the charts. We found it easier to give one toy at a time initially and then at the end to let the child play with all of them together. This allowed recording on the charts easier.
POKIT seemed popular with parents and children, finding it enjoyable and less taxing than other assessment processes (e.g. Griffiths).

The whole assessment is said to take about an hour by the designers, however, we found this to be nearer two and a half hours. POKIT is not a scoring device, nor a predictive test. It does not highlight the carer or parent’s ability to care for their children. It does however give an additional opportunity to see behaviour that is hyperactive or autistic and the video is helpful for discussing this with parents.
There is interest and considerable enthusiasm in the unit to incorporate this as an integral part of our 4-day assessment program of children with significant delay. The designers have given references and evidence to support the usefulness of POKIT.

We were convinced of its reliability and were persuaded about its validity by the data given in the book.

Ravindra N Chinthapalli
Consultant Paediatrician
Sadler Child Development Assessment Centre