Whac-A-MoleMANY, MANY BRAND-NAME games offer opportunities to practice and further enhance many of the skills and concepts learned through gross and fine motor play, sensory input, and communication activities, as well as social sense development.
It is well known that children with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, sensory processing disorder, or another neurological diagnosis miss out on participating in many “typical” children’s games. There are many reasons children do not participate in these games: the game is too sensory stimulating, the directions are not clear, the motor components are too difficult, the language requirements are too advanced, or the social component is overwhelming. The reason I have included this chapter is to recommend some games that these children can access with success. The goal is to make them familiar with the idea of being successful at games so that they can expand their repertoire of games. Some of the games were chosen because of their simplicity or their ability to elicit language, facilitate motor control, increase sensory modulation in social situations, and at the same time be sufficiently motivating (read: fun) for the child to participate in long enough to absorb these benefits.
Also, many of these children demonstrate difficulty playing with some toys, due to difficulties with sensory processing, especially as related to motor planning skills. They cannot figure out how to manipulate many store-bought toys that fill our homes. The following games were chosen to provide a mix of opportunities for toy object manipulation as well as to expose children to typical reciprocal-type games that can be played with peers. Peers who may have higher-level skills are often willing to play games that are familiar to them, even when they have been slightly modified.
Whac-A-Mole
Indoor
Whac-A-Mole by Milton Bradley
Three small plastic cups
The objective of Whac-A-Mole is to hit your mole with a hammer when it makes a certain noise or lights up. There are four moles with different colored hats that come fused to the moles. Have your child choose to hit his or her favorite color.
Play commences when you turn on the game. The game will begin to play music, and the moles will light up randomly. Have your child hit his or her mole with the provided plastic hammer when it lights up.
As this game may provide too much visual information, auditory information, or both at one time for some children with autism, it can be adapted by placing three cups over the moles and teaching your child to hit his or her mole only when it lights up. Placing the cups on the moles’ heads reduces the visual stimulation, since it reduces the number of lighting-up moles.
You can make the game more interactive by taking a second cup off and joining your child in the game. Sit on the opposite side, hitting your mole when it lights up.
Decreased frustration: This teaches your child how to play a common game while decreasing frustration. Once the child gets accustomed to the game, you can involve peers.
Visual-motor control: Responding to a visual cue with a motor action helps with visual-motor timing.
Attention: The game increases attention skills, as the child must focus on the mole continuously.
Sensory filtering: The activity requires the child to screen out auditory input to focus on hitting the mole when it is his or her turn.
Hungry Hungry Hippos Indoor
Hungry Hungry Hippos game (Hasbro)
White 4-inch-by-6-inch note cards
Blue, green, yellow, and pink markers
M&Ms
Draw a circle on each card with a color that matches one of the four hippos that come with the game.
Make three cards for each color: one with one dot, one with two dots, and the third with three dots—draw the dots inside the circles.
Start with two players (you and child); each player chooses a color.
Stack an equal number of cards in a pile next to each participant.
Each player (alternately) chooses a card.
The player gets to hit the lever corresponding to the number of dots on the card.
As the child becomes accustomed to the game, more people can join the game.
To motivate counting, have each child count the number of marbles obtained; each participant gets the same number of M&Ms as the largest marble count.
Cause and effect: A simple action results in a hippo opening its mouth and gobbling up marbles. This is good for children with limited motor skills because the actions involved are simple and result in the desired effect.
Turn taking: Drawing a card between turns uses a visual cue to instill turn taking, which decreases frustration. (This game is very chaotic when all participants “go” simultaneously.)
Counting: The child counts the dots on the card to know how many times he can press the back of the hippo, which coordinates motor actions with numbers.
Social interaction: Once a peer is brought into the game, it becomes social.
Simple rules and structure: This adapted version decreases frustration through the addition of simple rules.
Rainbow Rollers or Car Track Indoor
Car Track (Melissa & Doug) or Rainbow Rollers (Alex)
When playing with a young child who demonstrates limited eye contact and expressive speech, place a car on the top of the track and point to it as it goes down the track.
Do this several times until your child begins to watch the car go down the track.
Now hold the car at the top of the track, and wait until your child looks at you or utters something. Then verbally acknowledge his request, and let the car go down the track.
Then do it again. Your child will begin to understand that any attempt at communication—verbal or gestural and even eye contact, depending on the child’s level—will elicit the outcome he wants.
When playing with a young child who has some expressive speech and is learning how to request items in his or her environment, use this toy to teach your child how to ask for something. Hold the car, and when your child gestures for the car, ask him, “What do you want?”
If he continues to gesture, prompt him by saying, “Car, you want the car.”
Now give him time to respond. He may start out by saying, “car,” or something that sounds like it.
Make sure to give him the car immediately, thus reinforcing his verbal request.
This is a great toy to use to reinforce color concepts.
Hold a different color car in each hand, and ask your child, “What color do you want?”
Prompt a verbal answer by asking, “Red?” and extending the hand holding the red car. Then say, “Or blue?” and extend the hand holding the blue car.
If your child reaches for one car, say, “You want the red car,” and give it to him.
The next time, slightly pull the car back and wait. This should get him to say the color of the car he wants.
Note: This is one of those toys that can change how you interact with a child. I have used this toy many times as a way of entering a child’s world. I remember a mom and I working together to try to get her “little guy” to look at her. She really wanted that and tried so many different ways to get him to look at her. I brought out the racecar track, and he was fascinated by it. His mom started to hesitate before letting the car go down the track, and he looked at her as if to say, “Let it go, Mommy.” She let the car go and hugged him, “Yes, yes, see the car go.” He felt her enthusiasm, and in a short time they were playing a reciprocal game of cars.
Joint attention and eye contact: This activity involves eliciting joint attention by waiting and having the child indicate that he wants you to let the car go.
Expressive language: Language concepts are best learned in the context of an activity, eliciting language in context.
Color recognition: By teaching colors in the context of something motivating, you reinforce color concepts.
Visual-perceptual skills: Watching the cars move along the track promotes saccadic movement of the eyes for smooth tracking.
Cause and effect: The simple motor act of releasing the car produces the effect of the car rolling down the track.
Water Hot Potato Outdoor
Hot Potato Splash (Fundex)
Place to swim
Note: Children should always be supervised in a pool. If your child does not know how to swim, a life jacket is recommended.
Played in the traditional fashion of Hot Potato, the players pass the potato around.
The music plays (from the potato); the person holding the potato when the music stops is “It.”
The person who is “It” must do something, such as make a silly face, tell everyone his or her favorite color, or describe something around the pool or lake (e.g., tree, bird, etc.).
This can be done in a backyard without water. However, the nice thing about the potato is that it floats. So if your child misses it, the potato does not actually fall.
Social interaction: This game promotes social interaction without much complication.
Motor planning: Since the object of the game is to not be the one who is holding the potato, children learn to pass it along to the next person as quickly as possible, which requires motor coordination.
Auditory attention: Your child must discriminate between the music of the potato, children laughing, and other auditory input in the environment.
Proprioceptive input: Once your child becomes accustomed to water, it provides a proprioceptive blanket around the body, giving a sense of increased security. Thus the pool can be a great playground for promoting play.
Bunny Hop Indoor
Bunny Hop game (Educational Insights)
Start the game with all of the bunnies in the patch.
Everyone chooses a farmer, each with a different colored hat.
Take turns rolling the dice; the roller pushes down a bunny of a matching color that is displayed by the die.
The player pushes down on the farmer they chose, which will cause a bunny to pop up (not all of the bunnies pop up together).
If the bunny they push down pops up, that player gets to keep it. Otherwise, the player needs to remember which farmer caused which bunnies to pop up.
Visual memory: The child must remember which bunnies pop up when a particular farmer is pushed.
Turn taking: This game is fun and simple enough that many children will be able to wait for their turn. Also, children are motivated to attend while the other participants take their turn to see which bunnies jump.
Executive function: Since the child has to use working memory and planning, he must use components of executive function.
Hi Ho! Cherry-O Indoor
Hi Ho! Cherry-O game (Hasbro)
Ask the child if she knows the rules. If so, have the child explain them. If not, explain the rules.
First have the child pick a tree and place all the cherries on the tree.
Then have the child spin. If the spinner lands on a number, that’s the number of cherries the child takes off the tree and puts into her bucket. If it lands on a dog, she takes two cherries from her bucket and places them back on the tree. If it lands on the bird, she takes one cherry from her bucket and places it back on the tree. If it lands on the bucket of cherries, all her cherries are dumped back on the tree.
When you don’t have any more cherries on the tree, you win.
Throughout the game, ask the children questions such as, “What number do you want to land on?”
Note: This games requires that a child exhibit basic fine motor skills (e.g., finger isolation) as well as rote counting skills.
Language concepts: Use of pronouns, such as in “your turn, my turn,” as well as prepositions, such as in “Cherries are under the tree,” “I landed on the dog,” “We dumped the cherries out of the bucket.”
Language expansion: You can use this game to elicit discussion with “What if … ?” questions such as, “What happens if I land on number 3?”
Social rules: This activity works on turn taking.
Math concepts: It includes counting and doing one-to-one correspondence.
Crocodile Dentist Indoor
Crocodile Dentist (Winning Moves)
Each child takes a turn being the dentist. At each turn, the dentist pushes down a tooth he or she is “fixing.”
The crocodile bites down when a dentist hits a bad tooth, and that dentist (player) is out of the game.
Note: If your child seems afraid, let him or her hold the alligator while the other children push down a tooth. Or encourage him or her to push down the tooth with a wooden craft stick or a toothbrush to become acclimated to the idea that he or she will not be injured.
This is one of the all-time favorites with the occupational therapists and speech therapists at our clinic because it is simple. Also, kids from preschool up to fifth grade like it. It is fun to see how children who normally have a hard time engaging with others will start watching as one of the children slowly pushes down a tooth. You can see the other kids’ shoulders pull up and their eyes get big, waiting to see if the crocodile’s mouth is going to snap shut. It is a great way to start and end a group play or therapy time.
Socialization: This fun game allows children to participate in a group setting and promotes simple turn taking.
Sensory modulation: This activity promotes learning to tolerate or modulate to inconsistent reinforcement.
Fine motor skills: Pushing one of the teeth down at a time, the child practices isolated finger movements by extending her index finger and keeping the other fingers flexed.
Socialization: The child must practice turn taking.
Honey Bee Tree Indoor
Honey Bee Tree game (International Playthings)
Each player chooses a flower tray; it is recommended that you put a card with each player’s name in front of his or her tray. The game allows two to four players.
Each player takes turns by pulling leaves out of the honey tree.
The goal is to not have the bees fall onto your tray, which will occur if the wrong leaf is pulled or if the tree is shaken too much.
The winner is the player with the least amount of bees in his or her flower tray after all the leaves have been removed or all the bees have fallen.
Increase difficulty by having all the players lie on their belly with a pillow under their chest. This increases the physical control needed to not shake the tree.
Proprioceptive/tactile input: To exhibit the motor control necessary for this game, your child must learn to grade the pressure used as well as time of his or her movement.
Fine motor: The removal of the leaves is going to require a well-controlled pincer grasp.
Motor control: The players need to carefully remove the leaves without shaking the tree in case the bees fall. Extracting the leaves in a steady manner requires fine motor control.
Cause and effect: Children learn that the removal of the leaves leads to the bees falling.
Don’t Spill the Beans Indoor
Don’t Spill the Beans game (Hasbro)
This is a game for two or more players. At first, start with an adult and the child, depending on the child’s level.
Each player gets a pile of beans.
The players take turns placing the beans inside the plastic pot. The idea is to place the beans in the pot without tipping it over.
At some point a player’s bean will cause the pot to spill over. All the spilled beans are added to the pile of the player who tipped the pot.
The winner is the first player with no beans left in the tray.
Social interaction: This game requires turn taking and non-threatening interaction.
Upper-extremity strength: This actvity requires using upper-extremity strength to stabilize the arm so the beans can be gently placed in the pot.
Fine motor skills: A pincer grasp is used to place the beans into the pot without tipping it over.
Cranium Cariboo Indoor
Cranium Cariboo game (Hasbro)
Use the beginner version (there is an advanced version as well).
You (the adult) choose the type of card to use in the game (choices: letters, numbers, colors, or shapes). These will be the cards drawn throughout the game.
Prepare to play the game by following the directions that come with the game. Place the card facedown, put the balls in their places (shake the game a bit to randomize where the balls end up), and make sure the key is available.
The directions are straightforward and simple: Each player chooses a card and attempts to match his or her card to one of the “magic doors.” If a match is found, the player inserts the key to see if he or she finds a treasure ball. If yes, the player places the ball in the tumbling tidepool on the side of the game. If not, the player has to wait until the next time to see if he or she gets a ball.
The next player chooses a card and repeats the process.
The last player to find a ball gets the treasure.
Note: A good strategy to encourage turn taking in this game is to establish a rule that whoever has the key in his or her hand draws the card. You (the adult) then verbally prompt the children to pass the key to the next player and say, “Whose turn is it to have the key? Yes, Jake’s turn. Jake has the key; that means he draws a card.” If you do this in the beginning, children will start to pass the key without prompting.
I was playing this game with two preschool boys, and I had to prompt only a few times before one started handing his key to the other boy after his turn, saying, “Here’s the key—your turn.” I loved the exchange of both the physical object and the language! The great thing about this game is that children do not get the sense that they are playing against each other but rather with each other to open the treasure. That kind of joint attention is exciting to watch!
Preacademic skills: This game familiarizes your child with shapes, colors, numbers, and letters.
Turn taking: As with most board games, this game requires each participant to wait for his or her turn to see if he or she finds a treasure ball.
Don’t Break the Ice Indoor
Don’t Break the Ice game (Hasbro)
Set up the game by inserting the cubes into the base ice rink.
Each player takes a turn and taps one ice cube at a time with his or her mallet. As more ice cubes are knocked out, multiple cubes will fall beneath the rink at the same time.
The winner is the player who does not cause the bear to fall in the broken ice.
Social interaction: This game requires turn taking and non-threatening interaction.
Upper-extremity strength: This activity requires using upper-extremity strength to stabilize the arm so as to not break the ice.
Fine motor skills: Lateral pinch and palmar grasp are needed to hold the mallet.
Proprioceptive input: The child needs to grade the amount of force needed to hold the mallet as well as to tap the ice cubes (lightly or firmly).
