Barbara Sher - The Whole Spectrum of Social, Motor and Sensory Games: Using Every Childs Natural Love of Play to Enhance Key Skills and Promote Inclusion

Contents

Praise for The Whole Spectrum of Social, Motor, and Sensory Games

This authentically something-for-everyone book is a joyous reaffirmation that children learn best through fun, imagination, simple materials, and exploration of the many wondrous things of which their bodies and minds are capable. A timely guide the the timeless kind of childs play that should not be allowed to slip into history.

Ellen Notbohm, author, Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew

Barbara Sher understands children! In her new book, she not only gives great ideas for play, but creatively weaves stories into the book to show how to involve children and excite their attention.

Kathleen Morris, MS, CCC-SLP creator of S.I.Focus magazine and author of Sensory Soup

A resourceful book that takes the Power of Play to the next level.

Jennifer Gilpin Yacio, editor, Sensory Focus Magazine

A treasure chest of creative ideas for adding play to the learning experience. Not only teachers, but parents, grandparents, and caregivers will welcome this wealth of ideas for engaging children in these playful and educational games that foster skill development, engage reluctant children, and create shared joy and focused excitement.

Phyllis Booth, author, Theraplay

A book that has a rich variety of play activities that are gentle on the budget and are layered and tailored to appeal to different personalities and developmental abilities.

Lorna dEntremont, M.Ed., Special Needs Book Review

What I really found to be encouraging is the variations of those activities, which help to stay fresh.

Marla Roth-Fisch, award-winning author/illustrator, Sensitive Sam and VP, Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation

Everyone from grandmothers to therapists will benefit from the easy and practical activities in this book. The authors personal anecdotes and video clips are heartwarming and made the book come alive.

Darlene Mannix, Special Education Teacher and author, Social Skills Activities for Special Children

Other books by Barbara Sher

Cover design by Wiley

Cover image : Kevin Dodge/Masterfile

Copyright 2013 by Barbara Sher. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

A Wiley Brand

One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594 www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.

Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication has been applied for and is on file at the Library of Congress

For my Dream Team and the many children we have loved at work

For my husband and the many ways he shows love at home

And for my children and grandchildren for everything, always

Barbara, Mom, and Bubbie

In loving memory of my parents, who took the time to play with me,

and to my daughters, who continue to do so

Karen and Mom

Preface

We all know that each child is his or her own unique person with individual interests and skills. We also know that most children go through the same crawl-before-you-can-walk developmental sequences, although some children walk at ten months and others walk at eighteen months. There is a range we all respect. However, all children need experience. Infants are born without a clue about how to move their body; its the caregiver giving her baby time on his tummy to strengthen his back and putting toys slightly out of reach who helps her baby learn which muscles to use to inch forward. Its the toys that are hung above a babys crib that help her develop her vision and the skills of reaching and grasping. Being in a playgroup or with others at the park can expose a child to an awareness of facial and body cues.

Experience is always the best teacher, no matter what age we are and what skill we are trying to learn. And for the first five years of life in particular, experience makes all the difference. It has been only in the last ten years that brain researchers have explained how a childs brain develops and grows according to what the child has experienced. We have learned that each time a new activity is consciously experienced, new synapses are formed and the brain enlarges. We have also learned that the one hundred billion neurons that babies are born with and that are connected by practice become atrophied without experiences.

This book is about ways of making these learning experiences fun for children by turning them into games. When children are laughing while they are doing something, they are engaged, and they are learning. When parents and teachers are enjoying the activities as much as their children, or when children are inspired to do the activities on their own, childrens skills flourish. You may realize that you already do many of these kinds of activities, but you want to learn more. As you read this book, you will see ways you can use many games to fit your special child. There are games that are perfect for the child on the autism spectrum, whereas others work well for a child who is hyperactive, and almost all can include neurotypical children. Modify or mix and match, and your childs smiling response will let you know if youve picked the games that suit him.