Pretend with Charades: Great for kids with Autism

by Jax Chachitz
Blog: Creative Spectrum

I have finally found a great Charades Game! YAY! The game is called The Best of Charades for Kids by Pressman, for ages 4 and up. The game includes a board that is very simple, we really have just modified our method of playing it simply moving forward, since the concept of acting out words is complicated and attention span is critical. I find too many players acting things out actually makes the game last a long time. Pretending and understanding or somehow creating body language to express a concept, person, animal or object is not so easy. We also really just focus on my son acting out all the various words and are not so fixated on the back and forth game playing and trying to figure out other players actions. With other games it usually takes a little time to break down the basic game concept and eventually master it from beginning to end.

I am so pleased to finally have found a game that can help our kids pretend. The cards also have 3 levels that you pick via rolling a die, but we sometimes just stick to the simple option that also includes a fun simple illustration which is great for a visual learner. I have also seen other variations of this game that may be just as good. It seems there is also just a card deck available too. Happy Pretending!

Jax Chachitz

Bristle Blocks with silly faces great for kids with Autism

Bristle Blocks Twirl Tots in Bin
Thanks to Parents Toys for bringing back the classic bristle blocks in new exciting colors and with lovely characters to liven up play. The put together characters all have funny faces which are great for kids on the autism spectrum. Identify sad, silly, happy, crying, and some that could go either way. Great for imaginative play scenarios and creating clever little spinning contraptions. Build and create using motor skills while providing hours of imaginative and captivating play. Only drawback notorious with bristle blocks is that they never stay together so easily.

Playful Patterns by Discovery Toys

Discovery Toys has a creative and simple toy set called Playful Patterns. For some reason we have gotten a great amount of use out of and it seems to be constantly rediscovered as a toy. It consists of geometric foam pieces that match the designs on the pattern cards. Cards have simple images like a rocket ship, boat, fish, fox, clown, etc. The various shapes fit into the cards which create a clever method of helping a child to understand that images are made up of shapes. That square can be a fish, the rectangles are arms and legs on the clown, squares and triangles can create a rocket ship to the moon. My son loves this toy, and he just wants to continue to play all the various cards all the time. Our set includes over 100 shapes of various bright colors and 20 cards with 34 designs.
Some of the skills helped are language development, identifying colors, shapes, creating images. Problem solving skills, child must figure out what goes where to complete card. Great hand eye coordination and help with fine motor skills to place pieces on correct shapes, visual scanning for locating the correct pieces. I also have expanded play with creating our own scenarios from the shapes. One drawback is that for little fingers sometimes putting the pieces on the shapes can be difficult and a bit frustrating. My son has mastered asking for help, so I see the positive side. This set also has allowed for some great one on one focused activity to sit and simply play with your child to fill the cards. Time well spent!
This product is not in stock at Amazon but you can probably search for a version on Ebay or from the creator, Discovery Toys.

Play Doh Activity Mats, Great tool for pretend play

Play Doh Activity Mats are excellent for pretend play. Kids are encouraged to create shapes from play doh to fit onto the mat. Recreating and completing the various scenarios. The birthday party scene includes making candles, balloons, presents, decorating the cake, faces to complete. A great tool to expand play. Other scenes include, dinosaurs, a table setting, animals etc. I thought these mats were very helpful in giving a simple themed visual concept to expand on. My only complaint is that the product could be more durable.

Drum to the beat

Posted by aspiedrummerchick from Autism Speaks Community Bulletin Board.

"I have Asperger's Syndrome and something that has helped me greatly is music. Drums are an excellent instrument for anyone with Autism because it helps build coordination, focus, and it is very repetitive so an Autistic person would love it."

"I'm not disabled...I'm enabled!"
"I rock with rhythm!"

"Feel free to ask me questions about my Asperger's Syndrome through my thread (http://www.autismspeaks.org/communit...read.php?t=125)"