Cognition and learning

• Little involvement and low levels of concentration.
• Gives up easily.
• Little motivation, enjoyment or sense of achievement.
• Unable to express or explore their own ideas and thinking.
• Cannot make links, for example between experiences at home and nursery.
• Rigidity in play and does not choose how they would like to do things.

• Show a playful attitude and sense of fun when playing with children.
• Play alongside the child copying what the child does.
• Model possible ways to develop the play (for example, the child holds a doll, adult holds another doll picks up a spoon and pretends to feed it).
• Use reassuring facial expressions, body language, gestures and signs to encourage effort, no matter how small.
• Provide a simple play story using key words only, for example, 'Teddy jumps'.
• Use specific, meaningful praise when a child persists at or achieves something new.
• Verbal and visual encouragement.
• Try using photos, symbols, choice boards or ‘now and next’ boards to suggest and support play sequences or routines. Find out more from BBC’s Tiny Happy People - The power of pictures.
• Use specific motivators - learn what the child really responds well to (often food) and include it in play situations.
• Model the use of simple statements such as 'I wonder' or 'what if' rather than asking questions.
• Be patient with repetitive play as some children need to over-learn before being able to move on.
• When appropriate, always offer a choice (for example, between bubbles or glitter in a water tray) even if you know that they will always choose the glitter.
• Ensure the child sees other children playing in different ways.
• Find out more about supporting your child’s play and development at BBC’s Tiny Happy People - Tips and advice.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, or if you are a professional working in early years, you can find information on Tools for Schools: Cognition and learning.