What I Would Buy With $300

Fair is fair, so here's my shopping list:

1. Candyland

Everyone loves it. You can target basic concepts such as colors, pragmatic skills such as turn-taking and good sportsmanship, following multi-step directions, counting, and you can use it as a game for articulation or language therapy (e.g. three words/sentences with the target structure, then pick a card).

2. No Glamour Articulation
3. Webber Jumbo Artic Drill Book

These two books have everything I need for articulation therapy. They're fantastic for when I'm rushed. I would recommend having one of these in book form and one in CD-rom form. That way you can pull the book out when you're transitioning quickly between students, and you can print out nice-looking pages for homework. Plus you can make copies, do some coloring, and voila you have a set of articulation cards!

4. No Glamour Language & Reasoning

This book has a really solid foundation for language activities. I use it as a jumping off point. It can give you some direction when designing your own therapy materials.

5. Crayola Markers

I picked these because they last the longest and have the most colors. More colors means you can target descriptions, comparatives, basic concepts, and using specific vocabulary (I do not accept "that one" or "here" as answers to "wh" questions!). Plus, who doesn't love markers? I find them far superior to crayons because I don't have to push as hard in order to get good, uniform color. It's the little things that make a difference.

6. Stickers!

Extra bonus points if they are smelly. I have a file folder of assorted stickers of varying shapes and sizes (and smells). Some of them are for rewards, some are for therapy activities.

7. Sorry

I like this for the same reasons I like Candyland. And it's a little more time/effort intensive for older kids.

8. Granny's Candies

My favorite language game! My version is pretty old; it was passed down to me by my mentor. I use it all the time because there's something for everyone. One variation I like is to see if we, as a team can beat the number of candies I write on the board, usually 30 or 40. That way it's not always a who-can-beat-whom game.

9. Construction paper, glue, and scissors

Kids love to cut and glue things. It often drives me nuts, but it's tangible. It's also more fun for language-delayed preschoolers to cut and glue big and small objects onto different halves of a piece of blue paper than it is to read a book and point.

Note: None of this is meant as an advertisement! It's more of a list for the me of six months ago.

Next post: What it's like to go to a seminar on ASDs when I have one myself.