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Richmond, BC - (August 3, 2009) – Playing games appear to have potential in helping children with learning challenges deal with their specific learning related emotional and motivational concerns. Games present children with “mini-learning” situations in which they can experience success, experiment with new roles and behaviors and develop a sense of mastery and competence. Games tap a wide range of neuropsychological processes and cognitive abilities that are also important to academic learning. Playing games requires persistence, attention to task, impulse control and concentration, all of which are crucial to classroom learning.

Children are likely to actively engage in game play because it is intrinsically enjoyable and carries none of the pressure or evaluative qualities of school tasks. Children will be more willing to risk failure and attempt to learn something new.

Picking the best board games for learning disabled children requires an understanding of the child's social and educational level, not just their age. If the game is too advanced, the child will become frustrated. If the game is not a challenge, the child may become bored and disinterested in playing. The age designation on a game may or may not reflect your child's learning ability.

Learning disability experts suggest that parents can use board games as a way to provide a learning experience for their child in an informal, fun setting. Social skills can be reinforced as the game is played with family members and peers. Learning skills can be practiced in a relaxed environment with family members.

Social skills such as waiting for a turn, following rules and sharing are difficult to teach in a one-on-one situation between a teacher and a student. They can also be difficult for parents to teach since the child may feel the added pressure to perform correctly for the parent. Often these concepts become more relative, and thus easier to teach, when they are practiced by a child while playing a board game with a group of the child's friends.

To find the right game define the areas the child struggles most and find out games and skill building activities geared toward that difficulty. Look for games with:

• Turns . Waiting for a turn teaches patience to "wait your turn" and how to pay attention.
• Dice . Tossing the dice, reading the dice and moving the correct number of spaces teaches how to follow directions.
• Game pieces . Placing game cards in their correct position on the game board and distributing game pieces to each player can help a child with problem solving and task completion skills.

Let your child help choose the games. A child who has input into what games are purchased is much more likely to participate.

With so many options available to families with learning disabled children, it can be difficult to figure out which ones are best. Here is a list of some of the more popular games for learning disabled children

Games to consider:

• Colorforms – color and shape recognition
• Candyland – counting, color recognition
• Clue Jr. and Clue – problem solving
• Monopoly Junior and Monopoly – turn-taking, counting, following directions on "Chance" cards, handling money and making change
• Sorry – turn-taking, patience

Learning reading, writing and math skills can often be very frustrating for a child. Playing a board game gives a child a fun way to practice skills they have learned while counting skills can be reinforced by throwing a die and counting off the resulting move on the game board. Reading skills can be practiced by reading game cards and taking the appropriate action.

Games to consider:

• Jr. Boggle – reading and spelling skills
• Candyland – learning colors
• Chutes and Ladders – counting skills
• Monopoly Junior and Monopoly – reading and math skills
• Junior Scrabble and Scrabble – reading, vocabulary and spelling skills
• Trivial Pursuit – reading skills
• Battleship – counting and spatial relationships
• Chess – following directions and developing strategy
• Wise Alec – reading skills, learning colors, math skills and knowledge based

If you are looking to play on the computer, here is a list of sites and games that offer a great resource of skill development. Sit down with your child and play the games together.

Many of the games listed below are completely free and others offer a free version and more deluxe paid subscription version

• Spark Top—This site not only offers games such as D.J. Revolution, The Ring and Brain Arcade but also allows kids to connect with others children around the world.
• Kids Click—Huge list created by librarians to help kids find the best resources. In addition to links to games focusing on various subjects and for building specific skills, the site also links to educational resources.
• Ababa Soft—Links to many online games, categorized by the skill child will learn, such as color memory, sound memory, abstract memory and digits memory ability.
• Do 2 Learn—Multiple educational resources for learning disabled kids. Free picture cards, songs and games, and activities to help learn shapes, colors and so much more. Also offers games to help with emotions, sequences and word recognition.
• Boohbah Zone—If your child learns well with colors and bright activities with flash. The site does different things, depending upon where you click the mouse.
• Magic Keys Online Coloring Books—Books, puzzles and games for kids. Use online paint tools or print the coloring page for manual dexterity work in coloring inside the lines.
• Popping Virtual Bubble Wrap—Help kids develop mouse skills by having them pop virtual bubble wrap. Fun too!
• Reactive Colours—Ideal for autistic children who may be anxious. The reactive colors will allow such children to often relax and be able to better communicate. Also helps the child develop mouse and keyboarding skills.
• Mouse Trial—No need to register at this site, just start playing with a simple click or two of the mouse. The game offers six different modules in topics such as animals, size/shape/color, clothes and body, food, letters and numbers. Many different people play the game, because it's fun but it is specifically intended to help autistic children with vocabulary and communication skills.

About Griddly Games:
Griddly Games are games that get you going. The company creates award-winning party and board games that deliver innovative, engaging fun that brings people together. Founded in 2007 by Reisa Schwartzman, a mom from Vancouver, British Columbia, who took it upon herself to fill the void for products that deliver wholesome family fun that all ages could enjoy at once, Griddly Games creates games that inspire laughter and fun, while promoting an active and healthy lifestyle. As a former educator, Schwartzman instills a strict company philosophy to offer games that encourage social interaction, learning, strategy and challenges that anyone (the entire grid of people) can enjoy. To discover more about Griddly Games, visit www.griddlygames.com

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