What Are YOU Looking At?

Here is another selection from a page on the new, soon to be published Autism Games Website from the Advanced Games Section: 



Cariboo Cranium is a game that  we have used in our clinic to integrates pointing into a more complex thinking game.  This game is meant for children who are able to understand a complex set of rules and it is often harder to teach than it appears on this video clip.  In this version of the game, I am looking at a card which tells me what door can be opened but the girls playing cannot see the card.  They ask if they can open a door and I nod yes or shake my head no.

The game is meant to help children understand a bit about something that is often called Theory of the Mind.  Theory of the Mind refers to the awareness that different people have different "minds".  Each person knows different things because he or she has had different experiences and has seen and heard different things in life.  A poorly developed Theory of Mind would lead a child to believe that everyone knows and feels the same thing.  It may be that children with autism do not naturally develop as sophisticated Theory of the mind and for this reason, we have tried to include some games that are designed to help children understand that no two people see, hear, or think the same things This Cariboo game has several elements that tend to interest young children with autism.  It has doors that open, balls, and a treasure box that opens at the end. The game is not longer sold by Cariboo but I find the game often at the Goodwill (and I buy them up to give away).