New autism resource: free visual tools for teaching soccer
To do this, we created several series of photo posters. The first, Ready for Soccer, includes a "basics" poster designed to help kids with autism catch up with their typical peers by providing concrete information about what a soccer ball is, what a goal is, and what you're supposed to do with the ball and the goal! Another three posters provide step-by-step visuals and instructions for dribbling, kicking and passing.
I've included the posters for soccer in a Step-by-Step article, along with hints and tips for including children with autism in peewee and early elementary soccer. You'll be able to see and download the posters, and they should be of high enough quality to use with an individual child.
If you find that the posters are just what you need for a larger group - and want full-sized versions to hang on a wall or use with a group - please contact me. I have a limited number available that I can share for the price of postage.
Up next: articles containing our step-by-step posters for teaching T-Ball, calisthenics (gym), and playground skills (swing, slide, see-saw).
Please do let me know if these are helpful! Find me on Twitter!
Comments
This is very cool. I’d love to see the ones you developed for calisthenics and playground games. If you’re looking for inspiration, similar posters explaining tag, kickball, red rover, and other playground games would be fantastic for my son. Thanks for this excellent resource!
Thanks, Mamacate!
actually, I originally planned to do playground games, but then realized that while they LOOK simple, they are actually infinitely complex (with no clear boundaries).
For example, tag is played by touching the next person and running away. If you’re tagged, you are it and tag someone else. Sounds simple. But – can you tag back (backsies)? Can you run out of bounds? what are the bounds? How hard do you tag? What if you can’t catch anyone to tag? What if everyone decides to tag just you? The answers to questions like these vary for every playground, every group of kids, and every situation.
The same goes for games like hide and seek, red rover (unless it’s played precisely by the rules and managed by a teacher), mother may I, dodgeball, etc.
I also couldn’t figure out how to make a poster that required only one frame – “if you’re it, tag someone!”
The other thing I realized is that games like tag, hide and seek, dodgeball, etc. are governed more by social rules than by actual rule-rules. That is – how you run, where you hide, whether you make things harder or easier for the other person is all a matter of choice – and the choice is governed by your relationship to the people around you. I myself don’t fully understand how that works – it’s all about intuition and invisible social interactions!
Lisa