Game therapy for special education students

<< Background >>It is not easy for our students with special needs to express themselves the way their peers do. They can express feelings such as anger or fear, but how do they cope with problems such as unhappiness, being excluded, crying spells or aggression? Play therapy is one of the most effective ways to solve these problems. Thanks to play therapy, these children can learn to express themselves, to solve problems that they cannot cope with in their daily lives, and to change their negative behaviors through games and toys instead of using words. The aim of play therapy is to help the child's normal behaviour. Being aware of the importance of play therapy for our students to eliminate emotional, behavioural and psychological problems that affect development, as well to prevent the problems from growing, we decided to start and implement this project that aimed at helping teachers learn about play therapy and implement it with their students as we believe that if more teachers include these methods, more students will benefit from this opportunity and socialize.We want them to develop emotionally and be involved in society.<< Objectives >>We developed our competencies in 'Play Therapy' methods to improve the social-emotional skills of our students with special needs. By addressing the communication problems that hinder their adaptation to social life, we aimed to prevent their exclusion from society and ensure their inclusion. We strengthened the European identity and active citizenship. By educating their families about Filial therapy, we also supported their efforts to integrate their children into society.<< Implementation >>We implemented cognitive behavioral play therapy activities, 13 Effective Techniques in Play Therapy, Filial therapy (Parent-child relationship training), and Child-centered play therapy.These activities were carried out in Portugal, Estonia and Turkey. In the studies we carried out in the project activities, the achievements related to play therapy in the classrooms, during the lessons. We shared useful information and worked with teachers in every partner school, and after shared with our teachers help them teach students through an interdisciplinary approach.<< Results >>Teachers improved their skills in the field of play therapy. By disseminating practices for play therapy, we worked towards contributing to a better development of children's social emotional skills. Students were provided with play therapy sessions. By socializing, they were able to cope with their emotional problems more easily. Families who participated in the Filial play therapy sessions entered their children's worlds, and experienced the happiness and fulfilment of contributing to their children's social and emotional development.