A face-building game can start with a simple decision: choosing a character's pieces. From that composition, you can change a detail, compare two figures or invent a story.
These ideas focus on what you do with the material. For an autistic child, as for any participant, the specific activity is chosen according to their interests and how they want to take part.
The material for this activity
Pim & Ton, item 862, brings together pieces for creating faces and model cards. Its manual documents the set's contents and activities, with a 3+ age indication and a small-parts warning. Review these instructions before preparing the activity.
The following examples are suggestions for conversation and composition. You can choose one, keep the pieces you need to hand and store the others until you decide to change the game.
Idea 1: build a character
Choose a composition or model card to present. Show the available pieces for that activity and offer the opportunity to choose what the character will look like.
A question such as “what shall we name them?” can begin the story. Taking part may involve placing a piece, pointing to an option or saying something about the figure. Decide with the supporting person how to present that choice.
Idea 2: change a detail
Keep a composition and select a piece that can be replaced in accordance with the material's instructions for use. Present the alternatives and ask which one to put in place. Then you can compare the two versions or return to the first.
The conversation can describe the specific change: which piece you chose, where it is or which look you would like to try. You can also let the child suggest the next change. The game can remain about that choice, without adding a story if they do not feel like it.
Idea 3: compare with a card
If the activity involves following a model, prepare the card and the corresponding pieces. Look with the child at which elements appear and offer one decision at a time: what to place or what to compare with the card.
Another possibility is to use the card as a starting point and then change the composition. Explain which of the two activities you are doing: reproducing a model or creating a variation. The same set can offer different questions.
Idea 4: invent a situation
Once the character is assembled, you can imagine a scene: they have found an object, are going on an outing or want to choose a game. Leave the story open so that each participant can decide how to continue it.
If you talk about emotions, ask what the child imagines about that character and accept different stories for the same composition. The activity offers space for expression and conversation; it is not about assigning a real internal state to a person based on how their face looks.
Choose a way to take part
You can suggest a turn for building and another for choosing, a shared figure or separate characters. Choose the organisation that makes sense for that session and agree how support will be offered.
You can also finish with the composition created, give it a name and store or dismantle it following the material's instructions for use. Ending the activity can be as simple as deciding which piece or character to return to next time.
To compare this game with shapes, tracing and threading, see the selection of toys and educational materials. To organise your buying criteria first, start with the guide to choosing toys for autistic children.
