Puzzles Teach Skills to People of All Abilities for Lifetime

By Karen Kaplan, MS 

I decided to try puzzles for the New Year, bought a 500-piece and a 1,000-piece set, finished the smaller one, and am now working on the larger puzzle.

It made me realize that putting together puzzles can build so many key developmental skills. Puzzle work can be fun and beneficial for those with neurodiversity, special needs or learn differently. First it is the process of selecting a puzzle and then it is about purchasing a puzzle. Making a choice is a life skill. The actual financial purchasing is also a life skill, (counting out money, seeing if you have enough money and being sure you receive the correct change, or get a receipt to check my credit card later, were also key daily living skills.)

BUT, doing the puzzle. WOW. Children and adults must develop many skills to be successful at completing the puzzle. Puzzles teach us too visually discriminate, develop our fine motor ability, develop patience, work on our right to left sequencing or top to bottom scanning.

We must develop detail memory; we must persevere through the process. We increase our ability to concentrate for long periods of time. Finally, we learn to sort and match and connect.

So, get busy. Head to the box store, toy store, or library and start puzzle teaching.

• Choose small numbers of pieces first

• Select puzzles with familiar objects or characters your child/individual is motivated by

• Start with puzzle pieces that have knobs on them to hold and place in a space.

• You might find puzzles that make sounds as you place a piece into a space (animals, vehicles, ships)

• You can find or order a puzzle that spells out your individual’s name

• You can find puzzles that teach counting, colors, letters, zoon animals and even dinosaurs.

• You can take a picture of someone or some place and have a puzzle made. What a great conversation starter about a person, place, or thing we have engaged in.

• We might host a puzzle party at our home. Have our son or daughter invite a friend or two over and build teamwork on putting a puzzle together.

• Teachers might have puzzle time during the school day.

• Parents might have a puzzle time before bed.

• Parents might have their individual think about purchasing a puzzle for a individual’s birthday gift.

  
  

Puzzles do teach.  Puzzles do develop.  Puzzles can be fun and engaging.

Karen Kaplan, MS, is a native San Franciscan. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, in speech pathology and audiology. She minored in special education and obtained her speech therapist and special education credentials in California. Karen worked as a speech therapist for schools for 20 years before opening her own residential and education program for students with autism. She worked in credential programs at Sacramento State University as well as UC Davis and spent 20 years directing private schools for those with autism and similar learning challenges. Karen founded a non-profit, Offerings, which helps cultures globally to understand those with developmental challenges. For seven years, she founded and facilitated an autism lecture series and resource fair in Northern California. Karen still facilitates an annual Autism Awesomeness event. She is currently consulting, helping families, schools, and centers for children, teens, and adults. Karen has authored three books: Reach Me Teach Me: A Public School Program for the Autistic Child; A Handbook for Teachers and Administrators, On the Yellow Brick Road: My Search for Home and Hope for the Child with Autism, and Typewriting to Heaven… and Back: Conversations with My Dad on Death, Afterlife and Living  (which is not about autism but about having important conversations with those we love).

www.karenkaplanasd.com