Early childhood education focuses on developing fundamental skills in children and provides essential foundations for future academic success. Game is an effective tool for the education and development of younger students, and this paper examines the Simon Says activity. Teachers must apply various methods, consider the interests of all children with diverse abilities, and make classes inclusive. While some activities and lessons can be hard for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), modifications and accommodations can help them engage, develop skills, and successfully study equally with all children.
Following the scenarios for Simon Says activity, one of the children becomes the lead, stands in front of the group, and calls a specific action that the players must repeat. The game helps develop gross motor skills, listening, following instructions, and knowledge gained depending on the topic. For example, for a mathematical class, instructors can use the activity to teach the relationships between objects and help students understand objects’ proximity or position (Florida Office of Early Learning, n.d.). Teachers can also use the game for physical development, identification of body parts, and various other topics.
Simon Says requires specific skills from children to follow instructions. Students use the skills of body awareness, response, listening, following directions, and sequencing if there are several actions. Students with ASD may find it difficult to listen carefully, understand the instructions, join the game, and switch to new moves without warning that leads to a child’s adverse reaction to their unpredictability (“Autism,” n.d.). Some autistic children also struggle to use spatial and body awareness skills. Knowing these features, the teacher can change classes to contribute to all students’ success.
Students with ASD need an invitation to the game, support for understanding instructions, and the possibility of introducing restrictions on the unpredictability of activity. Given these needs, the teacher can apply modifications and adaptations, for example, limiting the number of moves the lead identified and students perform. One can also provide boards or cards with a visual representation of the necessary actions – in the sequence in which they will be named or in limited quantities. In this case, autistic students will know how to perform action and what to expect and will not react negatively to the activity. Finally, teachers can reduce the pressure on players by removing the possibility of losing and quitting and focusing on performing specific actions. The described considerations are presented in Table 1 on implementing the activity Simon Says.
Table 1: Adapting Simon Says Activity for Students with ASD
Thus, early childhood education must be inclusive and contribute to developing children with diverse abilities. It is crucial for teachers to adapt lessons and activities so that all children can take part in them. Considering an example of the game Simon Says, this paper offers modifications and adaptations to involve children with ASD. The activity requires listening, following instructions, gross motor skills, and other skills depending on the lesson’s goals. However, it can be difficult for autistic children to join the game, listen carefully to others, and respond to the lead’s instructions. Therefore, students need help, and teachers can suggest a limited number of necessary actions and visual support using cards and boards. Adaptation measures help to involve all students and develop their skills, which will be required for them in the future.
References
Autism. (n.d.). AllPlay Learn. Web.
Florida Office of Early Learning. (n.d.). Simon says. Web.