ASHA CEU COURSE #486 Introducing Social Games & Strenghtening Connection by Matching Games to a Child’s Strengths: The NEW Autism Podcast Series

How to Introduce Social Games to Autistic Toddlers and Preschoolers Who Aren’t Talking

What if one of the most important things you could do to help an autistic toddler communicate had nothing to do with getting him to say a word? Connection always comes before communication. Before we can expect a child to imitate us, follow our lead, participate in activities, or use more intentional communication, we need to focus on building authentic fun experiences with that child.

In this special 2-hour episode of The NEW Autism Podcast Series, pediatric speech-language pathologist Laura Mize, M.S., CCC-SLP, takes a deep dive into Focus Area 2: Introduce Social Games from The NEW Autism Workbook. Social games are simple, repetitive, people-based routines designed to build connection and shared enjoyment between a child and another person. They don’t require elaborate toys, complicated instructions, or demands for a child to participate.

Instead, we use the things a child already enjoys including movement, music, physical closeness, anticipation, repetition, and special interests to make interaction with another person rewarding. Laura explains how to choose social games based on an individual child’s strengths, interests, sensory preferences, and regulation needs, rather than expecting every child to enjoy the same activities. You’ll learn how to begin with just one or two highly engaging routines and gradually build a repertoire of social games a child knows, anticipates, and enjoys. Laura also explains how to extend these interactions over time so you’re not just getting a fleeting smile or a few seconds of participation—you’re building longer, richer periods of connection and engagement.

Throughout the episode, Laura shares practical examples of different kinds of social games and explains how familiar routines, songs, movement, anticipation, and repetition can become powerful tools for strengthening interaction. Most importantly, the goal is shared enjoyment.. think connection over compliance and invitation over pressure. When a child genuinely enjoys interacting with us, we have a foundation for building shared attention, turn taking, imitation, language, and communication.

BONUS: Watch Real Therapy Clips!

At the end of this episode, Laura includes real therapy clips demonstrating these strategies with young children so you can see what social games actually look like during intervention. We don’t typically include this kind of clinical demonstration in our free YouTube podcast episodes—we usually reserve therapy footage for our advanced courses—so be sure to watch through the end!

Who This is For?

This episode is designed for speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, developmental therapists, early intervention professionals, educators, and parents who want practical, strengths-based ways to support autistic toddlers and preschoolers.