AAC Chicks
The DYnamic Therapy Associates Blog
Let's Play Board Games! Adapting Games for Children with Severe Speech and Physical Impairments7/28/2014 When I first meet a child for therapy, I always ask parents to tell me what their child likes to do. What characters, what toys, what games, what videos, what books.... So many times parents of children with severe speech and physical impairment look at me like I'm a little crazy when I ask about board games. "Well, she would probably like them but she can't do it." Since that sounds like a challenge, I have been adapting board games for many years. (Plus, I like games and my own kids are getting too old to play Candyland with me anymore!) ![]() ...you can just add numbers (or colors, or letters) to the playing pieces so your child can use his/her device to make a selection. For this game, Alli uses her communication device to pick 2 numbers to guess where the two halves of Gingerbread Man are hiding. The next step is to make sure the game is as visually and physically accessible as possible. Here's a Candyland Game I adapted to help kids with fine motor difficulty move and place their pieces without sliding and falling. We tap out each move so our kids with visual challenges can hear how far the players pieces are moving.
13 Comments
Celeste Helling
8/2/2014 03:21:59 am
This is a very helpful post. Thanks for sharing!
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Vicki
8/2/2014 07:06:28 am
Thanks Celeste!
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Janette
8/2/2014 09:24:31 am
My friend Tracy n I adapted Candy land by painting over the squares. The game was too long for several students so we made each new square equal to three old ones
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Vicki
9/16/2014 03:18:51 am
Oh! That's really smart!!!
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Jocelyn
9/16/2014 03:11:11 am
I love the final instruction - forego all dignity and get stuck in! Made me laugh out loud. But it is so very true. No amount of velcro and all-singing all-dancing communication device could make up for a lack of enthusiasm.
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Vicki
9/16/2014 03:19:48 am
Yep, I look like an idiot when I do therapy but my kids love me :) It was either speech therapy or clown college. Speech won out.
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Dianna
9/17/2014 02:13:24 pm
The Velcro is a fabulous idea, thank you.
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7/17/2017 08:34:52 am
Yes, make money playing video games. Work as a video games' tester, playing and testing video games... Real and very well paid work.
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About the Author:
I am a SLP who has the distinct fortune of having a job that is also my passion. I have been an AAC Specialist for almost 25 years in schools and my private clinic. I currently own Dynamic Therapy with my husband, Chuck (also of 25 years) who is my business partner and enabler. We have a wonderful staff of SLPs & AAC Specialists who work with us to help our patients. I hope you find my blog helpful as you join me in our journey with our unique and amazing friends!
Vicki Clarke, MS CCC-SLP
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Dynamic Therapy Associates, Inc.
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