Emotions

Emotions. This is something that comes naturally to so many of us, yet it can elude those with autism. I recently came across a great Bingo game that deals with emotions.

 You can download this activity at Perkilou Products. How to play: Therapist reads a scenario card to the student.

When the student names the correct emotion, they can cover that emotion on their bingo board with a token. First Student to cover 5 faces in a row wins! I have used this in therapy and found it very practical and a great jumping point for many conversations about feelings. As an added bonus it also comes with a feelings file folder game (insert me leaping for joy here)!

Deciphering emotions is often a difficult task for people with autism. I have flashcards that I also use in therapy. They show a face expressing an emotion and at the bottom state the emotion. I was using these in therapy and my student was getting frustrated telling me to just move my hand so he could read the answer. I patiently reminded him that people don’t walk around with a sign stating how they feel. People communicate with their words but they also communicate with their faces and he needed to know what their faces were “saying”.

What tools have helped you explain emotions?