Friday, February 1, 2008

Computer Game to Promote Language Development




Games at Miniclip.com - Scribble
Scribble

Help the Ink Blots get to the finish flags.

Play this free game now!!
Note: Added Feb 3 after trying the game several times myself: I must have had beginners luck and since then have not done well with this game when I played it since. It is a relatively simple concept but...I don't know, I can't keep many of the little Scribbles alive. Your child may be a much more skilled game player than I am but play the game yourself and read the post below as a suggestion for how to make computer game playing useful as a language activity. Don't have your child play this particular computer game if it will be a cause of frustration. Choose the right computer game.

Here is an fun computer game to play with your child. But don't play it until you finish reading the post or you won't know how to use it to promote language and social interaction skills. Starting the game will take you out of this site and you will have to use your Back arrow to return. You might also want to read some cautions about using a computer with a child who has Autism Spectrum Disorder first. Note: Your child will need to be good with a mouse to play this game.

The communication goals that you might have while playing this game include: Taking Turns (you might set up one person as the Player and the other as the Lookout and then take turns), Increase emotional language ( Poor little guy, Oh No! Yikes! This is hard! This is getting easier! This takes a lot of practice! Yeah! I did it! I saved him! I am a hero! Wow! Not again! This can't be happening! I am scared for my guys!), Increase descriptive language (I need a long bridge over here! This will just be a short hop. He fell down a steep slope. The enemy looks hungry! Watch out below, we have falling Ink Blots coming down!)

Use a Duration Chart to stop playing this game if you need a way to set a limit on time. You could try to recreate this game on paper after playing it online and then take Family Dolls through the Game pretending like you are playing it together. Skills that are learned on the computer and then transferred to another activity and location are more likely to be generalized (used in many different settings).

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