FEATURE HERES ONE I MADE EARLIER

Heres one I made earlier...

Alison Roberts with more low-cost, flexible therapy suggestions suitable for a variety of client groups.
Alison Roberts is a speech and language therapist at Ruskin Mill Further Education College in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.

The tourist information game

MATERIALS Semi-official looking forms (which you will have made) Pens

This is a self / other awareness game suitable for teenagers. It can be done in a group or as an individual task. It is a useful exercise for learning to appreciate other peoples points of view and as a way of planning real days out, for friendship enhancement.
BRAWN You need to make several different variations of a basic form, all beginning with the words A day out for 1. an elderly granny or grandpa 2. a friend who is the same age as you, and has similar interests, but has a broken leg 3. a two-year-old with his/her mother 4. a six year old girl 5. a ten year old boy 6. a teenage girl who loves shopping 7. a business man who is stressed out 8. a friend who is keen on sport. You will probably think of many more. Now you need to add details to the form - Meeting time in the morning; Morning activity; Any equipment / special clothing needed; Where to stop for a break; Where to have lunch; Afternoon activity; Where to have tea/supper/evening meal; Evening activity; End time. IN PRACTICE No matter what the ability level of your group, it would be wise - to begin with - to discuss the forms and fill in at least one together. Next, the clients might like to work in pairs, which will offer an opportunity to discuss and try to agree on ideas. If they prefer to work individually they can share the ideas after they have finished. Some clients may need to have photos, to enhance their understanding of the character types. These could be found in magazines.

Unpick the crowd shout

MATERIALS A copy of the Radio Times A list of the current top twenty pop songs in the charts, together with their singers (Top of the Pops magazine is excellent for this) A list of films A list of pop singers

This fun game is for a fairly large group, 8 to 10 participants ideally. It calls for careful listening skills, and teamwork. Knowledge of syllable splitting is also important.
IN PRACTICE (I) As a whole group, decide whether you are going to shout out names of pop songs, singers, TV programmes, or films (many films will be listed in the Radio Times). To avoid confusion, put the unwanted lists away, leaving out just one list. For this example, lets say films. Divide into two sub-groups, A and B. Each team chooses a leader. Each group chooses something from the list for example, group A might choose Lord of the Rings. (This title is a good one for a group of 4 as it has 4 single-syllable words.) Choosing the title and practising the simultaneous shout needs to be done out of earshot of the opposing team (or very quietly). Each person in group A is assigned a word. When group B is ready and listening, and at a signal from their leader, group A shout out their words all at the same time, so that what is heard is one multilayered sound. Now, group B must work out what was said. They then take a turn. This time, suppose they have chosen Simpsons Movie. Now each member of group B must be given one syllable to shout simultaneously. You may find that you cannot find a film with the right number of syllables in the title, so then you will have to get one person to say 2 syllables at double speed, or maybe one syllable very slowly. IN PRACTICE (II) The original party version of this game uses proverbs, and this is excellent if your clients are already aware of these sayings, or if you would like to promote more use of such figurative language.

Clairvoyance
MATERIALS Magazines, colour supplements, newspapers (but avoid page 3 type papers as they will cause so much diversion you might as well go home!) Scissors Paper and glue Pens Post-it notes

Not real clairvoyance of course, but denitely a form of mind reading! This activity promotes understanding of facial expression, and of other peoples points of view, and is useful for a group of fairly able clients with Aspergers Syndrome. There are already boxes of photo cards on the market, but in this version the accompanying newspaper article has a role to play. Also, these pictures can be written on, and will have been selected by the clients themselves.
CLAIRVOYANCE IN PRACTICE (I) Each group member cuts out their chosen 3 pictures of people. They mustnt read the connected article, as then they are not being clairvoyant. Set the article aside for later, or pass to the group leader for secure keeping. Now guess 3 things about the picture: 1. What could their name be? 2. What are they thinking? 3. What are their plans? 4. What are they about to say? Stick post-it notes onto the pictures with your interpretations and then pass on to your neighbour to see if s/he agrees. Now take the article back, and see how close your ideas were to the truth. IN PRACTICE (II) If the clients might be tempted to peep at the article you would have to resort to cutting the pictures out yourself, but then you will have to make sure you know which article goes with which picture.

SPEECH & LANGUAGE THERAPY IN PRACTICE Autumn 2007

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