Children Succeed Games for Autistic Children

Children Succeed games for autistic children address social, communication and behavior. Parents, therapists and educators can choose products specific to the child's needs. Joan Nash founded Children Succeed inspired by the activities she developed as a school psychologist. Her extensive experience and passion for helping kids on the spectrum has translated into a helpful resource.

Joan Nash has taken time to answer questions about Children Succeed's games for autistic children in this LoveToKnow interview.

Back in the spring of 2008, a colleague and I were discussing a third grade boy with Asperger’s who was having difficulty making friends and who was preoccupied with trains. After reviewing the social skill activities I was doing with the student, my colleague casually suggested that I produce some of my games and activities for parents and other professionals. I loved the idea and, shortly after, launched Children Succeed!

We currently sell seven products but have countless ideas and games that have yet to be formally developed.

We have two games that are both in the planning stage right now. The first addresses sensory integration disorder and the second game focuses on improving social and communication skills. Both have been extremely helpful to the kids I’ve worked with over the years and I’m very excited to get them on the site.

Children Succeed games and learning tools primarily focus on three areas: improving social skills, improving communication and improving the ability to read facial expressions and understand emotions. Research shows that these are the three areas of greatest need for autistic individuals. A wonderful result of improving communication and the ability to read facial expressions is that overall social skills improve as well. These kids begin to develop friendships and that is the ultimate goal.

All of my games and learning tools are based on current research. I believe it is becoming common knowledge that autistic children don’t learn well when information is presented in a disorganized or haphazard manner. Current research agrees that autistic children need a structured, organized approach to learning. They don’t learn simply by being exposed to something, as many neurotypical children do. Dr. Scott Bellini of the Indiana Resource Center For Autism, puts it simply when he says that teaching experiences for autistic children can’t be subtle, they need to be explicit. Simply teaching autistic children about friendships is too vague. In order to learn, material must be presented in an organized manner and must focus on specific skills. All Children Succeed games and learning tools were designed with these as well as other current research findings in mind.

Probably the best way to understand this concept is to look at an actual example. Last year, I worked with a boy who had a diagnosis of Asperger's. He was a kind, wonderful, charming boy who had difficulty talking about anything other than dinosaurs. He dominated every conversation and had difficulty allowing the other person time to talk. I saw him together with a neurotypical boy who had excellent social skills and we did a number of activities together including the card game, Let's Talk. The Subject Cards in Let's Talk required him to talk about a wide variety of topics and he soon discovered that talking about other subjects was socially rewarding. The visual nature of the Question, Statement and Subject cards helped him to stay on topic throughout an entire conversation. His matching Question and Statement cards provided the structure he needed to have a reciprocal conversation in which there was a natural give and take of ideas.

I was amazed at how quickly he was able to transfer the skills mastered through playing Let’s Talk to everyday conversations. He learned to ask other kids about their interests and he learned to listen to their responses! One day I mentioned that he was no longer talking about dinosaurs. He reported that he still thought about dinosaurs at home but he no longer needed to talk about them at school. He explained that thinking and talking about dinosaurs helped him feel safe. As his social skills improved and his relationships with other children grew, he no longer needed his dinosaur safety net.

Although sports generally did not interest him, he learned to carry on a conversation about sports when it was initiated by another boy. He also learned that the other children were very willing to talk about computer and video games, two of his other interests. Through the use of games, along with his motivation and longing for relationships, this boy developed friendships for the very first time.

When I first started Children Succeed I wanted to provide people with an opportunity to share their personal challenges and triumphs. I thought this would give valuable information to parents and other professionals as well as an outlet for personal expression. A limited number of people have taken advantage of this option and I have actually taken it off the updated version of the website that was launched on April 25, 2010. I believe the limited interest in the sharing option may be due to the fact that opportunities for personal expression and support have grown tremendously over the past year.

Autism is so much more visible now. Parents are involved in support groups and playgroups and many of them spend time online searching for information and connecting with others through social networking. Similarly, teachers and other professionals have online forums for ideas and support. So, I am happy to say that the "Share Your Experience" option was underutilized, which may suggest that society is doing a better job of meeting the needs of those affected by autism.

Therapy does not end once the professional working with the child has finished her shift. A child with autism has a greater chance of succeeding when primary caretakers participate in therapeutic interventions. Sometimes learning how to do this is challenging and researched-based play activities can prove to be invaluable. Parents and caretakers can take an active role in their child's therapy using games for autistic children offered by resources like Children Succeed's games for autistic children.

Special thanks to Joan Nash for taking time to interview and for her dedication to teaching children with autism. Please visit Children Succeed for more information about fun activities for kids to enjoy as they learn.

• Autism Clipart
• Aspergers Checklist for Adults
• Preschool Activities for Autistic Children
• Aspergers Quiz
• Autism Quiz

• Lesson Plans for Autistic Children
• Adult Autism Symptoms
• Social Skills Activities for Kids with Autism
• Speech Therapy Ideas for Autistic Children
• Famous Autistic People

• Asperger Colleges
• Autism Home Program for Parents
• Gym Class and Asperger
• Social Skills DVDs for Autistic Kids
• Life Skills for People with Autism