Another game that could be fan and shows again how difficult can be to communicate something, is the following:
- Place small items like a clothes pin, a key, a battery, a ring, etc each in a small cotton fabric bag (you need to make these) of the same color and tie them shut.
- Make two identical bags of each item. And have the kids in two teams. Each kid gets one of the bags. S/he needs to feel what is inside the bag and then describe it to the team-mates without using the name of the item. Example: Key – it is made of metal, can be used to open a door, has teeth, etc.
- Time them. The least time to guess gets a higher score.
This will show kids how people with autism can sometimes create a mental image of something (thinking in pictures) but it is hard to communicate (put into words) what it is they "see" in their mind.
Since the kids do not see item but visualize it through the sense of touch, they create a 3-D mental image of the item, which is similar of how an autistic person will think of an item before communication what they are thinking in words, describing the mental image, is the hardest part, and that is why the speech of many autistic kids is so fragmented because they are describing a mental 3-D image into 2-D words…
Once you have made these little bags with the items, you can use them again and again. If they get dirty just put them in a pilowcase and wash them in the washing machine.
Another game that could be fan and shows again how difficult can be to communicate something, is the following:
- Place small items like a clothes pin, a key, a battery, a ring, etc each in a small cotton fabric bag (you need to make these) of the same color and tie them shut.
- Make two identical bags of each item. And have the kids in two teams. Each kid gets one of the bags. S/he needs to feel what is inside the bag and then describe it to the team-mates without using the name of the item. Example: Key – it is made of metal, can be used to open a door, has teeth, etc.
- Time them. The least time to guess gets a higher score.
This will show kids how people with autism can sometimes create a mental image of something (thinking in pictures) but it is hard to communicate (put into words) what it is they "see" in their mind.
Since the kids do not see item but visualize it through the sense of touch, they create a 3-D mental image of the item, which is similar of how an autistic person will think of an item before communication what they are thinking in words, describing the mental image, is the hardest part, and that is why the speech of many autistic kids is so fragmented because they are describing a mental 3-D image into 2-D words…
Once you have made these little bags with the items, you can use them again and again. If they get dirty just put them in a pilowcase and wash them in the washing machine.
Good luck!