Intermediate Level Games

For Children Who are Putting Two Words Together to Communicate

WHAT CAN YOUR CHILD LEARN PLAYING THESE GAMES? ...more

General Learning Goals

to intentionally interact and communicate for more reasons, with more success, and with more pleasure
to communicate using words, gestures, eye-gaze, facial expressions and body language
to imitate what others do including actions, words, melody of voice, and personal style
to enjoy playing and interacting with others for longer periods of time

Managing Attention

to shift attention rapidly between people, activities and toys
to pay attention when routines change
to be increasingly aware of what a play partner is looking at, doing, feeling, and trying to accomplish
to demonstrate awareness of and interest in playful social interaction

Initiating and Making Choices

to make a choice between two or more options when provided with pictures and/or given a verbal choice
to initiate games with actions, words, or pictures
to choose between two or more options

Communication

to understand and use a core set of important words and phrases (scripted language)
to understand pictures as representing activities, emotions and people
to understand and use nonverbal gestures such as head shakes and nods, waves, and pointing
to understand No and Yes as meaning different things at different times
to communicate the desire to end an activity in an appropriate way
to protest with words, facial expression, and tone of voice
to request with words, gestures, pictures, or eye gaze
to call others
to greet others
to say bye bye
to ask for help
to comprehend & follow verbal directions

Managing Emotions

to stay emotionally regulated (calm) when others say No
to persist when appropriate
to not persist (let things go) when appropriate
to recognize and name facial expressions for happy, sad, mad, scared, and okay.
to join into playful activities with playfulness

Cooperation

to follow routines within games and activities
to communicate the desire to end an activity
to take turns
to move together with others and/or in response to the movement of others
to join into playful activities with playfulness
to accept different roles within play activities
to allow others to share control of materials

Play

to follow routines within games and activities
to play beside others who are playing
to play with others in highly structured routines

Trying On Noses

In this game, trying on and taking off noses together is largely negotiated non-verbally. The nose brings a child's gaze to the adults face so head shakes and head nods are more easily noticed by the child.

For many children, the sight of a familiar person with a nose is uncomfortable. Teaching the child to ask the adult to TAKE NOSE OFF, PLEASE! is the language learning goal of the game. The adult, in this game, needs to quickly comply when the child asks. But then try on another nose. Usually, this game desensitizes the child to seeing an adult with an altered appearance. Animal noses games are good games to play before Halloween. The goal is for the child to become aware that masks are not so scary. and the person who wears the mask is still the same person underneath.

Sheila Merzer Game

Bye Bye Letters

In this game, a child can demonstrate that they know their letters or numbers or the names of shapes or animals. The adult says to the child Bye Bye (Item) and the child scribbles it out. Some nonverbal children with autism that I worked with were able to read their own name and other words but were only able to demonstrate that they could do this by scribbling the word out.

TIP-PLAY GAMES TO TEACH THE MEANINGS OF YES AND NO: YES and NO are confusing to many children on the spectrum. Why? Because these words may mean different things and different times. NO can mean 1) you don't have permission 2) you are wrong. 3) I don't want or like something. Plus sometimes, people say things like NOPE, NO WAY, HUH UH or they shake their head. None of these situations is entirely cheerful and sometimes people are mean or angry when saying NO.

YES is similarly confusing and YES can be conveyed as a nod, or with the words YEAH, YEP, ABSOLUTELY, and so on.

Below is my favorite YES/NO game, Can We Go? but there is another page filled with Yes and No Games.

RDI Game

Can We Go?

Can We Go? Is one of the best Route Games ever created. It can be played at many different levels of ability. In this version, the objective is to use head shakes and head nods for YES and NO.

For more Route Games.

Sheila Merzer Game

Nonverbal Push Truck

Here is a demonstration of a game that teaches the use of pointing, holding up items to look at, nonverbal head shakes, nods, and meaningful facial expressions. The game is simple: 1) The Parts Person holds up a possible next puzzle piece 2) The Puzzle Assembler agrees or disagrees to take the puzzle piece 3) The Parts Person pushes the truck with said puzzle piece to provide transport 4) the Puzzle Assembler puts piece in puzzle 5) The Puzzle Assembler sends truck back for another puzzle piece. Important Note: some puzzle pieces should not belong in the puzzle in order to make it more logical to refuse pieces.

Sheila Merzer Game

Hide & Find Game

It is fun to show that you understand verbal directions in this Intermediate Level Hide and Find Game. Note that this game is also a Two Location Route Game. It was easier for this child to moved back to a bean bag chair between each turn in order for the adult to hide an object without him seeing where it was hidden. In addition, the movement of the game kept him alert and focused. Many children do better in games where they are physically moving than they would do while sitting. Transitions between places and activities are often difficult for children with ASD. One additional learning objective of a route game is for the child to move through a sequence and not lose track of what they are doing. In other words, the child can practice transitions.

Hide & Find: Where is Duck? No, Not there!

Understanding Wh-question words is challenging for many children with ASD. Creating games that teach Who? What? and Where? is very helpful. A game allows a child many opportunities to practice the target skill with enjoyment.

In this game, a Calling intonation is used to teach the meaning of Where? and a Hide and Find Game is used to teach one meaning of the word NO.

Can you identify all the things this child is learn in one game?

Use a child's interests to support the child's learning

This child has recently become fascinated by numbers. So we find a way to include numbers in this game. He loves to jump on a trampoline. So, jumping is part of the game. The session goal however, was that he start to learn the meaning of taking turns.

TIP-USE THE EASIEST VISUAL SUPPORT THAT WILL WORK! When a child can combine words, picture schedules and even lists with check marks can to make sense. While at the single word level, we might start to introduce the pictures as representing activities and even use a FIRST/THEN with photos to help a child understand what will happen, if a child can combine words they are putting ideas together, which is an important cognitive milestone. Just to be clear here, some children remain unable to speak but can communicate by combining words on assistive communication systems. These children will also understand you better and understand what will happen better if you provide visual supports.

No one visual support system must be used exclusively. You can and should use whatever is easiest for you to make provided it is understood by the child. I have picked up a pen to draw something a thousand times when I needed something quickly. This was not because of lack of planning. It was because unforeseen situations come up or because drawing something was good enough and it was easiest. My drawing skill is maybe third grade level, minus the childish charm. It did not matter. Just the act of drawing something and then pointing at it helped children understand. If nothing else, it stopped me from talking too much and making the communication breakdown still worse. We use visuals because children with ASD have difficulty comprehending verbal language. They need a static form of information that they can keep looking back at.

In addition to drawing, you can use photos from your phone, pulled up as needed. It takes great effort to provide visual information instead of or in addition to verbal information and I support making that effort, but don't print out and laminate photographs if a sketch you can draw in one minute will work just as well. Below are a couple of easy but highly effective visual supports that you will love.

Numbered Check List

Use a Numbered List for when there are a discrete turns, games, or minutes - a certain number of things to be completed before you are moving on to something different. It is good for getting children out of the store after they look at, say, five toys. It is good for getting them through five turns at a new game where they might otherwise leave after trying it once.

Many children with ASD love numbers. For some children at this level, it is not clear if they understand numbers but still this system works after they have a little experience with it. You can teach it by letting the child make the check mark-using hand-over-hand to help . Checking off items on a list is just one of those satisfying things.

Duration Chart

Use a Duration Chart when you do not know how long you will be doing a thing or when there is clear number of turns or items. For example, playing with Play Doh is an unstructured play activity. With a Duration Chart, you (and not the child) periodically put an X in a box. The X just indicates that one is getting closer to the end of an activity. End the game when all the boxes are filled. Even if you are taking turns, do not put an X after each turn. You loose flexibly regarding when to end. Sometimes you realize a game was a mistake so you just check the boxes off quickly and get to the end before your child has a meltdown. Likewise, when a game is going well, a Duration Chart is great because you can extend the time that you play.

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