STPD course rundown: ‘Assessment of Play Skills in Early Intervention’ by Janine Benner

You know the drill - coming to the end of the year means counting up professional development hours. Realizing I need a couple more for 2025 (last minute queen), I took Janine Benner’s course this morning and wanted to share my experience.

Here is my Course Rundown of Janine’s course Assessment of Play Skills in Early Intervention available for .2 CEUs. If you aren’t already a member, of SpeechTherapyPD, you can use my code GESTALT33 to get your first course for free.

What I Learned

As an SLP primarily working with young autistic children, it felt important to take this course to make sure I am staying up to date. Although much of the content was familiar to me (and might be for you too), Janine presented an organized way of approaching play assessment with printable resources like checklists and criterion-referenced measures. The visual she included about types of play/play development will be helpful to show families & teachers. I included the stages below, but you gotta sign up for the course to see hers!

What I Loved

I loved the way Janine laid out ways to have parents meaningfully contribute to the assessment process: video samples, bringing familiar items and snacks, informing them about what will happen that they may not expect, and keeping in mind that they might be really nervous during the assessment. Janine also presents in a way that balances enthusiasm and solid references. When I take PDs, I lose interest if the content is either too fluffy or too dense - definitely not the case with this course.

Who I Think Should Take This Course

If you are working in early intervention or preschools, this is the course to make sure you have a solid plan for play assessment. This is a great PD if you need help getting organized, writing goals, and approaching parent involvement with sensitivity. Highly recommend if you want to build your toolbox and confidence.