Biography: Jenny Gibson is Professor of Neurodiversity and Developmental Psychology at the
University of Cambridge. She is a qualified Speech and Language Therapist and research
psychologist. Since completing her PhD at the University of Manchester, Prof Gibson’s research
has focused on play and its links to social and communication development. Prof Gibson joined the
University of Cambridge in 2014 and established the Play and Communication Lab, a team that
investigates psycholinguistic development, flourishing and neurodiversity in children and young
adults. Recently, Prof Gibson completed a secondment as Chief Scientist at the UK National
Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), investigating how multidisciplinary
approaches can support innovation for social good.

Background: Play is a human right for all children, and an important aspect of child development
and high-quality education. For neurodivergent children, however, play has often been considered
from a deficit-based perspective, with interventions focusing on ‘normalising’ or suppressing
authentic play behaviours.

Talk: I will present my team’s latest research on play and the evidence supporting its inclusion as
an essential part of a high-quality, child-centred education that promotes well-being for all. I will
discuss disability related inequalities in access to play, focusing on autistic play and play for those
with developmental language disorder (DLD). I will first present our emerging findings showing
links between play and well-being, social development, and academic achievement in large cohort
datasets. Following this, I will focus on our qualitative work on neurodivergent play and discuss
how honouring different preferences in play can support inclusion for those with communication
disabilities or differences. We will also discuss evidence gaps in this area from the perspective of
practitioners and parents, and explore possibilities for future research.

Implications for children and families: Make time each day to provide authentic play
opportunities for your child. Be curious, follow their interests, and have fun!

Implications for practitioners: Remember children have a human right to play and relax.
Upholding equal rights to play for neurodivergent children will mean supporting play that might
look different to the play of many other children, and that’s OK.

Funding: LEGO Foundation, University of Cambridge.

Key words: autism, communication, developmental language disorder, early literacy, education,
participatory methods, play, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, theory, well-being

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities