Early Intervention Games: Fun, Joyful Ways to Develop Social and Motor Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum or Sensory Processing Dis

Barbara Sher, an expert occupational therapist and teacher, has written a handy resource filled with games to play with young children who have Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or other sensory processing disorders (SPD). The games are designed to help children feel comfortable in social situations and teach other basic lessons including beginning and end, spatial relationships, hand-eye coordination, and more. Games can also be used in regular classrooms to encourage inclusion.

Key features:

• Games can be played by parents or teachers and with individual children or groups.
• Games are designed to make children more comfortable in social situations and to develop motor and language skills
• Also included are a variety of interactive games to play in water, whether in a backyard kiddie pool, community swimming pool, or lake
• All the games are easy-to-do, utilisiing common, inexpensive materials, and include several variations and modifications.

This collection of fun, simple games will help improve the lives of children with ASD or other SPDs.

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Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction 1

CHAPTER 1 Understanding Sensory Processing Issues 9

CHAPTER 2 How the Games Help Sensory Processing Challenges 19

CHAPTER 3 Social Gross Motor Games 51

• A Kid Sandwich 51
• Are You My Mummy? 54
• Balloon Baseball 55
• Blanket Ride 57
• Boat Ride 59
• Box Ride 61
• Going Through the Tunnel of Legs 63
• Hammock Swing 65
• Hit the Homemade Piñata 67
• "I'm Here!" 69
• Jump to Colors 71
• Leap the Shoes 73
• Massages 75
• Name Game 77
• Obstacle Course 79
• Races 82
• Rolling Children 83
• RurRurRurRurRUN! 85
• Sausage Roll (or Sushi Wrap, Hot Dog, Burrito . . . ) 86
• Scarf Toss 89
• Shape Targets 90
• Stack the Cans 92
• Stop and Go 94
• Target Games 96
• Throw the Balls into the Box 98
• Throwing into the Tubes 101
• Throwing Through the Tube 103
• Tug-of-War 105
• Walk with Rhythm 106
• We Are Rocking 109
• Who Is This? 111
• Who's in the Box? 112
• Wiggling Snake 114

CHAPTER 4 Social Fine Motor Games 117

• Bingo Game 117
• Bubble Blowing 119
• Cereal Box Puzzles 121
• Cereal Necklace 123
• Colored Slots 125
• Drawing Faces 127
• Dump and Fill 128
• Eyedropper Squirts 130
• Feather Blowing 132
• Listening Game 134
• Lost in Rice 135
• Penny Flick 137
• Point to the Cup 139
• Pudding Party 141
• Secret Message 142
• Sink the Boat 144
• Smelling Game 146
• Sound Makers 147
• Straw Sucking 149
• Styrofoam Hammering 151
• Tile Painting 153
• Toothpick Treats 155
• What’s in the Sock? 156
• Yes-No Game 158

CHAPTER 5 Water Games 161

• Blow Bubbles and Hum 162
• Boogie Board Ride 164
• Bury the Body 165
• Catch a Fish 167
• Choo-Choo Train 169
• Fill the Bucket 171
• Floating on Your Back 174
• Gecko Walking 176
• In and Out Crash 178
• Into the Hole 179
• The Kids in the Water Go Splashy Clap 182
• The Little Dutch Boy 185
• Little Jumps, Big Jumps 186
• London Bridge 188
• Make a Pond 190
• Monkey Walking 192
• One, Two, Three—Change 194
• Parallel Swim 196
• Ping-Pong Play 198
• Ready? Set. Jump! 200
• Riding the Horse Noodles 202
• Ring-Around-a-Rosy 203
• Save Your Life 205
• Shark Attack 207
• The Sponge Pass 209
• The Squirting Game 212
• Tug the Tube 214
• Wa-Wa-Wa-Water! 215

Appendix I Index of Games by Sensory System or Skill Stimulated 219

Appendix II Additional Resources 227

The Author 231

Bibliography 233