Has anyone used board games for social skills?

[Eveiebaby]

As the title says really - I am looking for resources to help DD age six with her peer social skills. She still doesn't independently talk to children in her class although happy to be around them and I've seen a couple of games on Amazon - Social Skills Board Games and Personal and Emotional Skills - has anybody else used these or anything similar with any success? - Thanks

I havent bought anything specific though I do use Guess Who to help with turn taking, following rules etc.
We also use Charades and it is very interesting to see how little DS picks up from gesture/facial expression etc.

We've used noodleboro games and they r great :) x

Ahh Guess Who - I have that game knocking around somewhere unopened! Thanks porridge

Thanks Sams I will take a look at noodleboro. x

There is a children's version of charades where they act out feelings and emotions. I have never used it but it may be good for this

Hi Eviebaby, my DD is 4 - the one board game she has responded to massively is Orchard Toys "Shopping List".
It's a memory type game - she adores it. She initiates asking to play it, she takes turns, she talks during it, and she actively tries to help everyone else fill their trolley - just amazing. I have bought many other games, but this has been by far the most successful. My DSv(NT), nearly 6, loves it too. He would buy and sell you in most things, but DD can hold her own to him in to this - he just wants to win, whereas DD concentrates on the detail - and wins more often.

I bought it from Amazon for less than £5 and can't recommend it enough.

Any kids card or board game (snap, snakes & ladders, happy hippos, even a jigsaw they do together) will teach turn taking, coping with unexpected events, prompting each other, commenting on events.

If your dc care about winning or losing, most games can easily be used to teach about feeling sad / happy / angry... and gradually to learn that the other player has those feelings too.

The problem with many SEN social-communication games is that dc can sometimes find them quite boring and difficult, and their NT peers often aren't especially enthusiastic either. The chance for classmates to skip a bit of a boring assembly to play snap with Esmerelda and the lovely TA is a handy way to keep Esmerelda high in the 'desirable playmate' league.

Orchard Toys have a lot of good games. DS2 likes a few of them.

DS is 6. He does snakes and ladders, hangman, squares (dots on a page you connect to make a square), pairs memory game, orchard toys, bingo, lotto, pop up pirate
Also more lively ones are hot potato, kerplunk, and he loves cranium hullabaloo.
DS's 1:1 takes a small group into the hall and play chase, whats the time Mr Wolf, stuck in the mud, or just dancing / copying games etc
The other children usually more interested in the more active / exciting games than the sitting down ones - and getting to run round the hall when other children are working is a big draw.
Teaching games the children play in the playground in 1:1 and small group also helps at playtime as the children who have been in the small group will often come and get DS and make him join in when they are outside.
Get staff to teach the game first with an adult, then 1 peer, then small group etc. And to pick the children who are interested in your child / good social models - often the teacher tries to make DS 1:1 take children for small group work who are a handful themselves - you want the children who will take yours under their wing.

I have a few. Socially Speaking is a good one, but it's expensive. I borrowed a copy from our SALT team, on short term loan to see if ds responded to it, before buying my own.

Also found this when looking for another game called What's Up - it looks ok but not the one I have - if I find it I'll let you know.

There are loads on Winslow, but they're not cheap. Maybe you could group together with other people who wanted to share?

Thank you for all your replies - we play typical games which DD does enjoy (sometimes ) and she is good at turn taking etc.. which is why I wondered if games that were more specific to social skills might be more helpful - I think I might buy one it's worth a try I guess.

I agree Orchard Toys are good - I think I have Shopping List somewhere too! (Feeling like a bad mummy with all these unopened games but we have a big family so lots of presents do get put away in cuboards to come out at a later date)

Agnes - yes DD's TA does do games in the playground with DD and the other children. DD likes doing these games and participates well with adult support eg TA would say "DD choose what colour hoop XXX can stand in " and DD would say " xxx - blue hoop xxx- green hoop etc.... but she has real difficulty with unstructured time in the playground she just prefers to sit and watch if no adult is there.

Can you get the TA to teach the games the other children are playing so she can join in more?
At the start of the year the children were playing a game called toilet flush tig - which was stuck in the mud except instead of crawling through each others legs they were flushing each others arms like a toilet!
DS thought it was hilarious.
Unless the other children are playing the hoop game then the TA would be better noticing what the other children are playing and teaching that - even if its bizarre (as they usually are), that way your DD would be more likely to join in.
We are lucky DS has fulltime help including breaks and the children are used to playing with him in structured groups so tend to bring the game down to his level a bit.
We took the LA to tribunal to get his support and I had a good laugh imagining the SEN Manager's face if she knew we were using their money to teach DS to pretend to be a toilet .

The orchard toys ones were good for us too. Spotty Dog and fruit salad. Guess who and head bandz. And some little card called 'Good Manners' or piggy manners as we used to call it. It's a good laugh to play at home with another child as a guessing game.

I've got a set if you're interested. DS has outgrown them. PM me if you'd like me to pop them in the post

Thanks for that Agnes - yes, it makes sense to see what the other children are playing I hadn't thought of it like that. Toilet flush tig sounds like fun .

My childhood vintage version "tummy ache" has done the rounds of all my cousins, various friends kids (NT & SN)my son and now is with my niece. The game rules are so visually simple that the child can concentrate on the social skills side enough to actually get some pleasure out of it. It also appeals to that silly mishcheivous sense of fun that all kids have but that those with social challenges don't often get to enjoy. Basically it's FUN.

Nowadays orchard toys does an updated version that pretends to be all holier than thou with it's links to the NC & healthy eating which means KS1 teachers may be willing to let it be played with during wet play etc in mainstream. Ignore the holer than thou sales blurb though as it teaches the fundamental basics of taking turns etc without being too dire. www.amazon.co.uk/Orchard-Toys-5011863100221-Tummy-Ache/dp/B0006HBEQQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359331038&sr=8-1
I think it's very reasonably priced especially compared to specific special needs products.

It's simple enough that a bright NT 2 year old can understand the rules but enough fun that NT bright kids up to about 8/9 won't get bored. So it's ideal as a starter game for kids with social skills issues. It's the sort of game that Grandparents can play with the kids when they come to visit, and that you can actually get NT kids to play (finding suitable peers to practice skills is often a real PITA).

I honestly can't say there's a game I'd rec' more highly for taking those very first steps in group social skills for up to 4 kids. Once a child masters tummy ache then you can try moving onto other board games, gradually increasing the sophistication levels & complexity. I'm saving my 1970's "tummy ache"
game to play with my grandkids.

Thanks Bochead - I came across tummy ache in a charity shop today couldn't believe my luck! - I've showed it to DD and she thinks the tummy ache cards with the yukky bugs on are hilarious - I'm looking forward to playing it at the weekend .

okay this website is american but i am sure you can get these things in the uk
www.superduperinc.com/search/search.aspx

Evie - just to let you know game is on its way. Sorry it is late.

inappropriately - no probs - thanks for letting me know x