Child & Family Development Child & Family Development

July 24, 2013

Great Games for Encouraging Communication Skills at Home

Guess Who? game, Child & Family Development Center, Charlotte NCAs a Speech-Language Pathologist at Child & Family Development in Charlotte, I am always looking for new games to play in speech therapy that are motivating for my kids. One of my favorite games is Guess Who? by Hasbro.

Produce description: “A wonderful blend of deduction with a form of 20 Questions. Two players try to deduce the identity of their opponent’s “Mystery Person.” Using game boards with 48 frames apiece and an equal number of cards displaying character faces, players ask one another yes or no questions that help narrow the pool of possibilities. Through the process of elimination, the identity of the Mystery Person slowly becomes evident. As kids’ skill levels grow, their questions become more strategic, allowing them to solve the mystery faster and faster. The faces on the cards are cheerful and clever and designed to give subgroups among the 48 characters just enough similarities to challenge players.

Recommended ages: 6 and up

Guess Who? helps children work on:

  • Sentence formulation and use of negatives in sentences (e.g., ‚ÄúNo, my person is not wearing a hat.‚Äù)
  • Formulating questions (e.g., Is your person a girl? Does your person have white hair?)
  • Identifying similarities and differences between characters
    • Support your child by pointing out several characters and asking how they are the same or different? This will also make it easier for them to think of an appropriate question to ask. If your game comes with separate pictures of the people, you can practice compare and contrast by sorting the pictures by gender, hair color, eye color, accessories, etc.
  • Describing
  • Responding to yes/no questions
  • Logic and reasoning (e.g., asking appropriate questions, eliminating correct pictures)

This game can be modified by turning down some of the characters on the board to make it easier for the child to visually scan through the pictures or having another adult present to look on with the child and provide support.

Talk to your Speech Therapist about how you can use your games at home to work on your child’s speech and language goals.