HERES ONE I MADE EARLIER...

ALISON ROBERTS WITH MORE LOW-COST, FLEXIBLE THERAPY SUGGESTIONS SUITABLE FOR A VARIETY OF CLIENT GROUPS.

Heres one I made earlier...

II. CUSTOMISED JENGA
MATERIALS
A good fun activity for a group at the end of a course of therapy. It is essential to have a solid table with a flat surface for this game, otherwise you will spend the whole session rebuilding the tower! For the same reason, only do this activity with clients who have a steady hand. A game of Jenga (Hasbro, approx. 6.99), or, if you are very enterprising / impecunious, you could cut the little blocks yourself but you would have to be fussy about sanding them thoroughly so that they will slide out of the tower easily. A black felt tip pen.

I. T-SHIRT ACTIVITY

This is a relatively expensive activity, but was very much enjoyed by our clients, and you might ask for contributions towards the cost. It is best done in a group, as a sociable activity. The idea is to decorate the t-shirts as a form of self-expression, showing the clients main interests. You may need to help the clients with the task, so that they end up with something they would actually wear. However, you may find, as we did, that they are very artistic, and dont need much help.

MATERIALS
Cheap cotton t-shirts one for each client. White ones make the most impact. (Its best to wash them first, as the decoration will stick on better.) Fabric paints and pens in several colours. Hardboard or large trays and paper. Somewhere large and flat to store the shirts while they dry.

BRAWN
There are two plain sides on each Jenga block, and all you do is write forfeits on them. You can collect ideas for these from other games such as The Ungame (Talicor), Lets Talk (Winslow), All about Me (from Incentive Plus), or you can make the ideas up yourself. It is helpful to have forfeits of different types, for example category areas such as My favourite food or Name 3 farm animals as well as more philosophical ones such as If I won a million pounds I would or If I had a time-travel machine I would go Also give some social skill types such as Greet everyone in the group in a different way, or What would you do if your friend was in a bad mood? and some silly ones such as Walk round the table like an old lady or Make a noise like a chicken.

IN PRACTICE
1. Make lists of your clients interests. We had horse riding, various pop bands and other music, dolphins, cats and dogs, cookery, and many more. They will be decorating their own shirts rather than each others, so it doesnt matter how individual their ideas are train timetables are acceptable if thats what turns you on! 2. Clients should outline their designs in pencil on paper first, not straight onto the fabric. Simple outlines and lettering work best. Not all the ideas will be easy to make into pictures, so some can be left as lettering. 3. It is also wise to let the clients try out the feel and effect of the fabric pens on some paper before using them on the shirts. 4. Before you start decorating the shirts place them on pieces of hardboard, or large trays, to keep them flat. Also, insert some paper between the layers of the garment to prevent the colours leaking through to the back. 5. Copy your design from the pencil and paper prototype, starting at the top to avoid smudging it. [Warning - dont fold it while it is wet; keep flat until dry. If they want to decorate both sides, you will need to do the second side the following session.]

IN PRACTICE
Play as for ordinary Jenga, but after you have pulled out a brick you have to carry out the forfeit. There is a forfeit on each side, making a choice. I have had no trouble with the same forfeit coming up more than once in a session, because there are no right answers to the questions, so you can have several peoples thoughts on the same subject. The one who knocks the tower down has the job of rebuilding!

III. ALTERNATIVE ODD ONE OUT

This is a lateral thinking game for a group of fairly able clients who must already have grasped the notion of the traditional odd one out. The idea is that the clients stretch their minds to seek the less obvious oddities. This can help with observational skills. The core ability to think laterally is also, I believe, helpful in being able to think of conversational topics. I have found that a good discussion about difference / similarity / uniqueness can emerge from this.

MATERIALS
Odd one Out cards or sets of objects that show easy and obvious odd ones out you could use themed objects such as cutlery, plastic farm animals, tools, make-up etc.

IN PRACTICE
Place a number of objects in a theme together; say four red toy cars and one of a different colour, and add a red lipstick or a red flower. It is a moot point as to whether the differently coloured car, or the flower is the odd one. You could try office equipment, all but one beginning with the letter s (scissors, sellotape, pencil, stapler, stamp) and one other thing beginning with s (for example a scarf). The pencil is odd because it doesnt begin with s, and the scarf is also odd in not being office equipment. Or what about party and party games equipment balloons, straws, whistles, party blowouts and crisps; and a recorder. Is the recorder odd (non-party) or are the crisps odd (edible)?

VARIATIONS
There is a type of glue that you spread onto photocopied designs, and then iron on. We found this a good idea for some, but you need to follow the instructions carefully, otherwise the paper sticks on and is hard to shift. If you use this method you need to complete the ironing part of the process before adding any other fabric pen designs, as some fabric pens are heat intolerant.

Alison Roberts is a speech and language therapist at Ruskin Mill Further Education College in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.
SPEECH & LANGUAGE THERAPY IN PRACTICE SPRING 2006

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