[…] Connected Convos – An awesome free activity by Joel Shaul from Autism Teaching Strategies (a great website for more social skill resources). In this activity, students work on making connected comments during conversations. This reinforces the skills of staying on topic. The activity goes like this: tell students to have a conversation and try to stay on topic. Each student has cards with links on them and cards with broken chains. Whenever anyone makes a comment the group decides if this was connected or on topic and puts down a link card, or puts down a broken chain card if a student went off topic. Another way to play is to use the visuals of building a building and a wrecking ball. The group can “build” a conversation together but if someone goes off topic, they put down a wrecking ball card. I love the visuals of chains to “link” the conversation together and wrecking balls which effectively “blow up” the conversation. […]