Okay, here are some more of my favorite games to play with kids on the autism spectrum, teaching social language as well as language concepts to preschoolers:
Sunny Day Pond by Peaceable Kingdom. Again, this is a very simple first game for kids where they work cooperatively to assemble the 3 animal puzzles, an orange duck, purple fish and green frog before collecting the 6 raindrops. Match the solid colored-back of the puzzle pieces to the color you spin and start assembling the puzzles. There is lots to talk about as you select the duck’s beak, the fish’s tail or frog’s eye.
Don’t Wake Daddy by Hasbro. This one is new to me but we had a lot of fun with it yesterday. It is a bit more complex with spinning to see what number of spaces you advance and then depending on if you have a drawing of something noisy in the house on your space, you are safe or not. If you have a picture card that matches the one on your space, you are safe. If not, you have to push the button on the alarm clock the number of times indicated on the space. Kids love anticipating waking up Daddy. If you wake up Daddy he pops up in bed! Winners get to the refrigerator first for a snack. There is a surprise element to the game which could be tough for some kids so you have to assess if this would work for you little client. This game can be easily simplified, by disregarding the matching cards and just using the numbers to pump up the alarm clock which is fun for everyone, especially if you don’t play by the rules and get sent back to bed!
What games do find to be the most engaging and educational for your preschoolers on the autism spectrum? Let’s share.
