social skills game - Social Skills Activities for Children with Autism

April 27, 2023August 12, 2026

Part 3: Workplace preparation Q & A cards (printable & screen-based)

A game-like card activity to promote workplace readiness in teens and young adults on the autism spectrum, in printable and screen-based versions.

Ready-for-the-Workplace-Cards printable Download

Ready-for-the-Workplace-Cards-screen-display-version Download

In German: Bereit für den Arbeitsplatz – Karten

Hebrew translation of this resource

Why I made these cards

To engage teens and young adults on the spectrum in productive discussions about preparing for adulthood, I have found it useful to employ various media and game-like methods. Q & A card resources are one of my mainstays. This method helps to break up the usual adult-questioning-the-child dynamic in therapy and teaching. And in small-group and classroom work, the turn-taking format helps to give everyone, including quieter participants, the chance to talk.

Ways to use these cards

There are six categories of cards, allowing for a game-like element by rolling a die to determine which card a participant has to select.

But you may feel free to use these cards however you like. For example, you can pick through the deck and select the cards you think are most relevant and helpful for the young people you are assisting. You may decide to focus on just one single category of card.

For another card-based resource to explore much broader themes of preparing for adulthood, check out Young Adult Future Cards.

Here are the six different card categories.

Category 1: About you. The question posed on each of these cards asks a work-related question pertaining to the person who drew this card.

Category 2: About Others. These card ask the person drawing the card to pose a certain question to others who are participating in the game.

Category 3: About the Future. Each question posed pertains to a work-related matter in the future of the person who draws the card.

Category 4: Help the Person. Each card poses questions about a hypothetical young adult facing a work-related problem.

Category 5: Each card describes a typical negative thought which a young adult with ASD might have in response to a workplace issue.

You, the facilitator in this activity, can use the “Fix the Thought” cards in the following manner if you like: You, the facilitator, play the role of a person having this thought. The participants talk to you and offer you alternative ways of thinking.

If you would like to expand on the theme of automatic negative thoughts, check out this video and this resource on “Poison Thoughts.”

Category 6: Act it Out. These cards obligate the person to enact a brief, work-related role play scenario described on the card.

You, the facilitator, play an active role with these “Act it Out” cards. Each card gives “stage directions” for carrying out a very short role play.

These cards are part of a series of vocational preparation materials, which you may access by clicking on the links below.

Joel Shaul, LCSW

Intro: Workplace preparation resources for young people with ASD

Part 2: Workplace preparation – printable teaching panels

Part 3: Workplace preparation – Q & A cards

Part 4: Job interview skills – how to teach it and provide practice

March 3, 2022August 15, 2026

Problem and Solution Cards ~ Fast and fascinating self-awareness project easily completed with child during sessions

Do-it-yourself social skills cards designed to look like Pokémon and Yu-gi-oh

Problem-Solution-Cards-DownloadDownload

Problem-Solution-Cards-Download-CBT-Variation-1Download

In mental health, special education and speech therapy, children experiencing multiple challenges can feel demoralized by being the “problem child” all the time. It can be useful sometimes to help our young clients externalize their problems onto fantasy characters which we can help them to fight against.

Many young people relate strongly to youth culture themes of “good guys” and “bad guys” through movies, stories, video games, and in trading card sets such as Pokémon and Yu-gi-oh. To capitalize on this, I designed this free, easy card-making project to help children focus on therapy issues and coping strategies.

Although this is designed for in-person work, it is also ideally suited for teletherapy, since the collaborative work takes place on a shared computer screen and you can mail or email the finished product to your client.

I developed this resource over a number of years of drafts and refinements. I thoroughly tested it in my own work with autistic youth and can attest to its usefulness.

The images below explain how to set it up and use it in your own work.

This download gives you 2 PowerPoint templates and 48 drag-and-drop images to custom design cards. They look like Yu-gi-oh or Pokemon cards.

You use your own learning goals from speech, mental health or education to guide you in making the cards. You can make them together with the child.

In my own work with children and teens on the autism spectrum, I typically can co-create as many as five pairs of cards in a 45 to 50 minute session. Children appreciate being able have input into naming the characters and selecting among the 48 drag-and-drop images.

There is great potential to add more cards, or modify existing cards, in subsequent sessions.

Picture showing examples of cards you could make for Speech.

Although I am a mental health professional, in my own work with young people who have ASD, I do a great deal of work on social communication. In my experience, most of the children I work with can quickly make up clever character names. Most can come up with a coherent narrative under “helps me by…” [Obviously, the sample cards shown were not created by clients 🙂 ]

Picture showing cards you could make for child mental health issues.

For my fellow mental health professionals: These DIY cards are ideally suited for CBT.

Please note that I have a completely separate CBT-based Problem Solutions Cards kit available with drag-and-drop images specifically selected for mental health therapy.

You can use them in schools to work on behavioral or social goals.

I am not currently working in schools, but the fact that this project is carried out on-screen in PowerPoint would seem to make it well-adapted for groups and small classroom work for children with emotional and behavioral concerns.

Picture showing a card completed by a child.

The draw-your-own version of this is similar to a popular download I posted years ago, Dark Force / Light Force Worksheets. In my own work, I like to get children to draw as much as possible in structured therapy projects. Having done this project many times both ways, both through drawing and via drag-and-drop image selecting, I would say that both versions have advantages. One important consideration is that many young people just don’t want to draw. Another consideration is that many of them draw slowly.

For many years, until 2019, Rebecca Klaw and I sold these cards that we invented, along with related therapy materials.

You are probably familiar with these Social Thinking materials based on Unthinkables and Thinkables characters. If not, you should check them out.

February 4, 2022July 3, 2026

14 free social skills resources for kids with ASD who don’t speak English

Social skills resources for children who are not English-speakers

I have many free resources translated into Spanish, German, Polish, French and Hebrew. I also have have many other resources, for parents or professionals providing social / emotional skills teaching to children who do not speak English. These include:

*Resources that are based mainly on images instead of words

*Resources that are editable, so you can easily add text in your own language

(Elsewhere on this website, I have a number of resources translated into Polish, German, French, Spanish, Hebrew and Albanian.)

This is one of my best hands-on resources for helping children practice conversation basics including greetings, “how are you’s,” staying “on track,” switching topics, and ending the conversation. There is also a screen-based version that works really well. The principles are derived from my book, The Conversation Train.

The simple Venn diagram worksheet can easily be modified for non-English speakers. (It is currently translated into Spanish and Polish). Most of the picture cards work fine without being able to read the English text. These resources are derived from my book, The Green Zone Conversation Book.

I collaborated with an Australian to produce this popular set of resources. The emotions appear to be universal. You don’t have to color them, but children enjoy doing it. (It is currently translated into Spanish, German, French and Hebrew.)

This will work in any language. The card templates are in PowerPoint and you add your own text – in any language.

Talk to Family sheets are currently translated into French and Spanish.

This resource is used in a similar manner to The Conversation Train printables, except the broken chain image is used instead of the broken train track to represent “off topic” statements. (This resource is currently transferred into German and Polish).

Head Outline Pages is available in a Spanish translation.

Voice Volume Meter is available in a Spanish translation.

This is a very useful resource. In my own work, I use it several times a week. Children enjoy taking part in the creation of the meters, and it provides helpful continuity between one therapy session and the next.

Add you own text – in any language.

A toy balance is an invaluable social skills resource for your office, speech room or classroom.

I designed this resource carefully so that it is easy to use. You can create a game ahead of time for the children, but in my own work I prefer to create the game with the children, during our time together, so that the children are actual co-creators of the game.

Draw a Pizza sheets are available in Spanish.

Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.

January 17, 2022August 15, 2026

Paper fortune teller for practicing “How are you?” questions

How-Are-You-Paper-Fortune-Teller-DownloadDownload

This same resource, translated into German

[This is page 10 of the English and French versions of my book, The Conversation Train.]

Young people with autism and “How are you?” questions

When people with ASD are asked open-ended questions like “How are you doing?”, “What’s up?” or “How’s it going?”, they often can’t figure out just what it is the other person wants to know. Also, individuals with autism might be inexperienced at employing various quick, formulaic replies like “Fine, thanks” or “I’m doing okay. You?”

When people with autism are expected to ask other people “How are you?” or “How’s it going?”, many just avoid saying it altogether. There are several reasons for this. First, the unfolding of a conversation containing “How are you?” can be very unpredictable in length and in content. Asking a person how they are doing often elicits a lot of information that someone with ASD may feel unprepared to take in. Second, a person on the autism spectrum might not grasp the imperative of reciprocity in conversation, so when someone asks them “How are you?” they don’t end up asking the same thing in reply.

In my own work, I have seen how many young people on the autism spectrum can get much better at this set of skills with instruction and practice.

Children with autism often don't know how to answer the question, "How are you?" They also don't know why they should ask others "How are you?"

Paper fortune tellers work well for two children, or an adult and the child, to practice specific conversation skills. I have used my own, custom-designed ones for many years in my work. There are many other conversation-based paper fortune tellers on the website to practice other elements of social communication. I also show how to fold them.

This picture shows what it looks like when you open up this how are you paper fortune teller.

Inside the paper fortune teller are examples of different ways to ask "How are you" to someone.

There are lots more social skills paper fortune tellers on this website.

Don’t miss these other free worksheets, games, and teaching / therapy resources for children on the autism spectrum:

Free social skills games & activities, emotional regulation skills for kids with ASD

Free social skills games & activities, communication / conversation skills for kids with ASD

Free social skills games & activities, social interaction skills for kids with ASD

Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.

November 28, 2021August 12, 2026

On-screen Holiday social skills “board games” for Christmas (and other holidays) social skills

On-Screen-Holiday-Theme-Board-Games-with-Moveable-Game-Pieces Download

(For OTHER on-screen social skills games, click here)

Christmas (and other holiday) social skills challenges for children with ASD

All children, including children on the spectrum, get excited about upcoming holidays. As teachers, therapists and parents, there are some things we can help them with ahead of time so they can enjoy the holidays as much as possible and cope with aspects of holidays that might be difficult for them.

Sensory issues: Children with ASD might experience aversion to unfamiliar foods and cooking aromas. They might feel uncomfortable in loud, crowded spaces such as family get-togethers and holiday concerts.

Conversation: Children with ASD often benefit from preparation and practice for the unique social communication opportunities that can occur during holidays.

Emotional regulation: Children who derive comfort from knowing what is going to happen next can find the unpredictable characteristics of holidays challenging, such as receiving unexpected gifts and experiencing sudden schedule changes.

Social expectations: During the holiday season, children with ASD can experience confusion regarding such social expectations as reciprocating generosity and acting more mature with increasing age.

In earlier posts, I showed how to put together and play simple social skills “board games” using my simple PowerPoint template. This free kit I offer you here is a set of pre-made, holiday themed games that are ready to play. Each square on the game board poses a social skills question pertaining to holidays.

The picture below provide more information and details.

Don’t miss these other free worksheets, games, and teaching / therapy resources for children on the autism spectrum:

Free social skills games & activities, emotional regulation skills for kids with ASD

Free social skills games & activities, communication / conversation skills for kids with ASD

Free social skills games & activities, social interaction skills for kids with ASD

Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.

November 4, 2021August 15, 2026

Friendship Growing Cards ~ social skills game to teach friendship skills for children with ASD

Growing-Friendship-Cards-Printable-version Download

Growing-Friendship-Cards-On-screen-versionDownload

This resource in German: Karten für wachsende Freundschaften

This resource in Hebrew

This social skills card game is designed to help children with autism to explore friendship. It can be used in a variety ways. You can print out the friendship social skills cards and use them with dice in a social skills game or you can use them in an unstructured Q & A format. A separate download allows you to skip printing the cards and instead display them on a computer, which makes this social skills activity adaptable for teletherapy or classroom use.

The pictures below demonstrate what elements of friendship are represented in the three card categories: Planting friendships, Growing friendships, and Working out problems in friendships.

These 16 cards are all about "planting" friendships.

These 16 cards are all about taking care of the friendships you have started.

These 16 cards are about dealing with friendship problems.

To add a game-like element, you can roll a die to guide card selection from among the three categories, as explained below.

There are different ways to use the cards. It is recommended you try rolling a die to randomly select which of the 3 card piles to select a card from.

These cars were designed for young people with autism. However, they could be used for other young people experiencing basic problems with isolation and peer relations.

In my own use of these cards in social skills groups, I have used the projected version of the Friendship Growing Cards as often as I have employed the printed-out cards. Projected each individual card offers the advantage of allowing all participants to clearly view the card in question.

The screen-based version works very well, especially if you don't have time to print and cut out all the cards.

Here below is a free comic based on Growing Friendship themes: Growing Friendships – A Comic for Autistic Children, available from the Aide Canada website.

From the Aide Canada website, there is a Growing Friendships comic which Joel Shaul created with Fahkri Shafai and Elsbeth Dodman.

Don’t miss these other free social & emotional skills games, worksheets and teaching / therapy resources for children & teens with ASD:

Free social skills games & activities, social interaction skills for kids with ASD

Free social skills games & activities, communication / conversation skills for kids with ASD

Free social skills games & activities, emotional regulation skills for kids with ASD

Your comments on these resources are most welcome, and often helpful. Click HERE to send an email.

testing testing

September 8, 2021June 27, 2026

Things learned from teletherapy to make us better in-person therapists

September 2021

Many of us in education, mental health and speech spent hundreds of hours providing services remotely through our computers in 2000 and 2021.

At times, it certainly made us feel burnt out. Not to mention how it may have affected our students and clients.

Maybe you, like me, have also learned from working remotely and grown professionally because of it. Although I went through lots of frustration, I have to say it really had some very positive effects on my work. I started out with limited skills in teletherapy but then I got much better at it, to the point that a majority of the families I work with would have preferred continuing in remote services with me if insurance providers and regulatory agencies would have allowed it.

While doing all that therapy remotely through computer screens, I did a few things which have affected the way I now do my in-person mental health therapy and social skills training for young people with autism.

Some Ways Teletherapy Experience Can Make Us Better In-Person Therapists

Doing teletherapy, in a shared, virtual space instead of our own offices, can have the effect of breaking down some power dynamics that might not be beneficial to the needs of the child and the family. We – the professional, the child, the parent – work together in teletherapy in a space we jointly nurture and develop. It sometimes does not work so terrific, but when it does, it’s great.

Now that we are back in in-person sessions, providing services in our professional space, there are many things I can do to continue to work together with families in an egalitarian and collaborative manner. I can get out a drawing the child made in the past and stick it on the wall during the session. I can work more diligently with the parent as a therapeutic ally and perhaps have them in the therapy room for more of the session.

Engaging Visuals Are Just As Important with In-Person Therapy as in Teletherapy

The experience of doing teletherapy made it more clear than ever how important it is to use the clearest and most engaging visuals I can find. I noticed, in teletherapy with young people on the autism spectrum, that I needed to use colorful, engaging and strategic visuals on the shared screen as much as possible to supplement the verbal exchange and engage distractible eyes. Now that I am back to seeing children in person, I find I am using visuals – social skills games, picture cards, very simple worksheets – more than ever, since for so many months I had no other choice while carrying out teletherapy sessions with children on the autism spectrum.

In your own in-person teaching and therapy, you are invited to supplement your own repertoire of engaging visuals with whatever you might find on my website. My website’s download section has dozens of free printable games, pictures, coloring sheets and simple worksheets.

Screen-based Therapy Tools Can Work Great with In-Person Therapy Too

Many kids with ASD will lose focus and feel uncomfortable if obligate them to face us directly for too long. In teletherapy, I often spent more than half the session working with them while we looked together at a game, online worksheet or video. Although I used to use screen-based therapy tools often before the pandemic, I find I am employing them even more now after 18 months of teletherapy experience.

Some of these screen-based teletherapy resources I developed work even better than the printable resources I based them on. See this example below.