Free check-off worksheets for children with ASD’s to explore conversation topics with family members
Children with autism spectrum disorders often have difficulties having conversations with the people they live with. It really helps to use picture guides. Here is a set of easy-to-use worksheets for classroom, speech room and home.
Here is the first of the three sheets, a guide to explore talking with a sibling or other child in the household. Here is the second worksheet, which is a guide to exploring conversation topics with parents or other adult members of the household.
The third sheet is used in combination with the picture sheets to help create questions, compliments and comments.
How to use the worksheets:
1. Have the child put check marks next to the photos they think represent the person’s interests.
2. Go over the images one at a time with the child. Explain that the family member probably has many interests that are different from the child’s own interests.
3. The sheet “Questions, Comments, Compliments” can be used to set up role plays and actual conversation practice with family members.
4. Have family members fill them out for the child to use as a reference.
5. Project the sheets using a smart board or projector – this really helps for small group or classroom discussions about family members.
I hope these worksheets are useful for you.
Joel Shaul, LCSW
For more free materials on facilitating parent/child conversation for children with autism: How Was Your Day? Sheets
This method of teaching social and conversation skills to kids is children with ASD’s is unconventional. But you really should try it if you can – kids like it and it really helps them teach others about themselves and learn about others.
Quick and easy method to help children with autism to learn interests of other people
Children with autism spectrum disorders, or children whose knowledge of peers is affected by isolation, anxiety or intellectual disability, benefit from colorful and concrete learning materials when we are helping them learn about other people. Whether you are working with one child or a whole room full of kids, you really should try this social skills learning activity. It is quick to set up. I give you PowerPoint templates and you just copy and paste images onto them, add some text, and you are ready to go. This social skills activity is screen-based, and many children seem to never get tired of looking at screens. There are options to print out drawing worksheets as well.
