Play behavior of autistic children is described as very restricted and peculiar. Concerned with the search for promising educational practices, we use historical-cultural theory to analyze the ways through which autistic children orient themselves towards others and objects in situations of play. The study focuses on three subjects, aged between six and twelve years, during play sessions. These sessions were coordinated by the first author, who ascribed meaning to the children's actions and use of toys, and encouraged the emergence of imaginative play. Data were organized under two topics: children's modes of playing and adult's modes of participation. The findings suggest that the researcher's mediation allowed for the occurrence of many instances of orientation towards the other as well as moments of contextualized use of objects, including actions of role play.
autistic children; tricks; childhood play development