games

Games are obviously important in the lives of all children, but they are especially important for the autistic toddler. A simple game can help them to learn about turn taking, the pleasure of sharing play, reciprocal play and many other subtle social cues and rules that we all take for granted.

Blue is not yet three, so I needed to find really simple games which might draw him in. I'd thought I'd share three successful ones here:

Red Rover

Red Rover consists of a red plastic dog with an open mouth and a blue backpack. In its bag are a series of bones decorated with colours, shapes and numbers which should be placed randomly on the floor or table around the dog. The player presses Red Rover's nose and he says "Red Rover, Red Rover, bring a BLUE bone over!". The player then has to find the correct bone, put it in the dog's mouth and he will be congratulated. The dog has the exceptionally irritating voice of a whiny American child, but I let it slide because the format is good. Blue doesn't like the voice either, so we often play it without and I just tell him which bone to pick up.

Pop-Up Pirate

To me, this is a classic toy - one I remember from my childhood. The aim of the game is to insert the coloured swords into the barrel without making the pirate pop up. It is really simple, great for fine motor control (without being too fiddly) and turn-taking.

Soundtracks

I love this game, and so does Blue! It is far and away the most successful game we have. The game includes a CD with lots of day-to-day noises on it (vehicles, animals, telephone, etc), four lotto-style picture cards and some plastic counters. The player has to put a counter on the correct picture when they hear the sound. The game is great for expanding receptive labelling, and we make it expressive too, by asking Blue "What is it?" after each sound, it has taught Blue the "listen" instruction and obviously, it's also good for turn-taking and all the usual social game skills. There is also an animal sounds version of this game which is slightly less widely available and, I would say, better for very slightly older children, or animal-obsessed ones!

We have a giant yellow dice which Blue loves, so I am planning to make a simple dice game for him, perhaps to work on his verbs, which are poor. His birthday is coming up, too, and we have a basic snakes and ladders game to give him.

I'd love to hear about games which are enjoyed in your homes, especially for little ones who are new to the concept of games.