What is the experience of Watch Me Play! for caregivers and professionals for young children in care who have emerging neurodivergent development and are supported by an under-fives mental health service?

Young children in care with emerging neurodivergent development (ND) are a vulnerable population who are under-represented in research. Watch Me Play! (WMP) is a psychoanalytically informed approach to promoting child-led play through supporting attuned caregiver attention. Engaging in play promotes learning and development and play is a fundamental motivator for children because it is inherently pleasurable and meaningful. However, for children in care with emerging ND, play can be more difficult. Caregivers and professionals can find their play confusing, frustrating and disturbing. This can further inhibit these children’s capacities and opportunities for child-led play to be experienced and to develop. This qualitative study aimed to better understand the experience of WMP for caregivers and professionals for young children in care with emerging ND. Three core themes were generated by analysing data, using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, from seven semi-structured interviews with caregivers and professionals. Theme one – how WMP is understood; theme two – potential benefits of WMP; and theme three – challenges and difficulties of WMP. The study proposed various implications for practice. Recommendations for future research included further exploration of WMP with children with emerging ND and autism; the experience and challenges of child-led play with children with emerging ND; the experience of WMP during transition from foster care to adoption; and the experience of WMP training for social workers, foster carers and adoptive parents.