Possibilities of Using Board Games to Develop Communication Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The article presents an experimental study aimed at identifying the possibilities of using Board games to develop communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study involved 6 children diagnosed with ASD from 4 years 8 months to 8 years. The experiment lasted two and a half months, with each child was conducted about 20 classes (of 2 hours), during which each of the selected games was held 2 times. Two board games were used, corresponding to the level of development of children — “Walker” and “Memory”. Communication skills were evaluated in two directions — the ability to focus on the partner’s actions during the game and ways to address the partner in the game. The analysis of changes in communication skills of each child is presented. In General, the results obtained in the experimental study suggest that board games can act as an effective means of developing communication skills in children with ASD. Through board games, children were able to develop the skills of paying attention to the partner during the game, tracking their actions and waiting for their turn, addressing the partner and answering a question. The results obtained from the presented sample of subjects showed that better dynamics in the development of communication skills were demonstrated by children with initially higher development indicators, regardless of age.

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