The concept of risky play is discussed under the name of play, which seeks excitement and involves a risk of physical injury. In this study, it was aimed to examine the pre-school teachers’ opinions and perceptions toward risky play. This study was conducted as a basic and exploratory research according to the qualitative approach Totally 25 pre-school teachers working at six different schools at 2015-2016 term dates in Ankara participated in this study. Data were collected by using a questionnaire form, which was developed by researchers and participants were interviewed individually. Document analysis was conducted on the documents obtained by these interviews. As a result of the study, it was indicated that teachers’ approaches to risky play was cautious. The importance given to children’s physical health was seemed to an obstacle for taking risk. As a reason for this foundings, it was observed that risk was perceived as a dangerous and damaging. Also, it was observed that attitudes of parents and school managers toward teachers and physical infrastructure issues could be other factors that prevent risky play.

Preschool inclusion is seen as the best practice for children with special needs (SN) by experts and teachers. However there are limited number of studies in which behaviors of teachers working in preschool inclusive classrooms and behaviors of their students with SN are observed. The purpose of this study was to examine the behaviors of teachers working in preschool inclusive classrooms and behaviors of their students with SN or children who are risk group (RG). This is a descriptive research study in which behaviors of seventeen preschool teachers and their students with SN or RG from one public preschool in Ankara, Turkey, were video recorded during thirty minute table-top activities (TTA) and thirty minute free play (FP). Video records were analyzed using observation forms developed. Analyses of the observations revealed that teachers were interacting more or less at the same rate with children with SN or RG in TTA and FP, positive behaviors directed at children with SN or RG were almost the same during both activities, and teachers’ negative behaviors were very few. Children with SN or RG were interacting with their peers more during FP than TTA, positive interactions with peers and teachers were a little more in FP than TTA. Negative interactions with peers and teachers were almost same in both activities. Moreover problem behaviors were almost same for both activities, and children with SN and RG engaged in on-task behaviors almost half of the TTA. Results are discussed in the framework of the current literature.

Difficulties in language and communication are diagnostic criteria of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and these difficulties are taken as an important variable in determining the severity of the disorder for the children with ASD. It is accepted that language development of children with ASD is heterogeneous. While some of the children can never acquire language, some of them may show language use similar to their peers with typical development. In this review developmental characteristics of children with ASD in language and communication skills are examined. Children with ASD show developmental characteristics/impairments specific to the disorder in pre-linguistic social communication skills and in language components. Therefore, in this review development of children with ASD in pre-linguistic nonverbal social communication skills is discussed. In addition to this, developmental characteristics of verbal children with ASD in morpho-syntax, semantics, and pragmatics which are language components are also examined. This review provides a guide to teachers and researchers who work on language development of children with ASD.