Emotions Go Fish was created to make learning emotions fun for children with autism. This game was developed to encourage children with autism to reference faces in order to better understand emotions.
As a therapist (TSS), I once believed that discrete trial was the cure all end all for autism, I have evolved into to a more hands on therapist that utilizes age appropriate games to teach skills to children with developmental disabilities. After months of trying to teach a child how to comprehend different emotions and how to express appropriate emotions, I created this game. He would be frustrated when the discrete trial cards of facial expressions were brought out. The roteness of learning emotions made it difficult for him to understand or even want to understand emotions. After trying many different ways to adapt to his learning style, I developed this game "Emotions Go Fish." The game was made of blank face cards that were drawings, each face had the same color hair, skin, eyes, etc. The child had to learned to process the emotion and express that emotion appropriately. When we started to play the game, I was so happy to see that for the first time he was laughing and giggling while he was learning emotion. After a while of playing the game, he actually asked to play the game on his own. This game also taught him how to express his emotions and understand what he was feeling. This child is now capable of expressing, and understanding his and others emotions. As a behavioral specialist consultant, I have utilized this game with children with emotional problems and autistic disorders.
