Deaf “Telephone Game”: Visual Games for Bonding, Interaction and Inclusion!

Enjoy this video from the Hands & Voices Leadership Conference!

In this session, we learned about Visual Games designed for bonding and promoting interaction within a family. Deaf and Hard of Hearing children are often unintentionally left out in big gatherings. Noise tends to be loud, people talk over one another or yell from another room, talk while eating, etc. Although these are typical scenarios for get-togethers, the noise level makes it much harder for our kiddos with hearing loss to follow what’s being said and be part of the conversation. These visual games don’t require much language, making them perfect for everyone to play and take part!

This game is called Deaf Telephone Game. You’re passing along a message and seeing how distorted it gets by the end of the line! In this game, you line up 6-10 people all facing one direction. The person in the back of the line begins by tapping the shoulder of the person in front of them and showing them a sign or phrase, gesture, or movement. The second person now has “the message,” then turns around, taps the shoulder of the person in front of them and shows them the message. The message is passed down the line until you get to the first person. Is the message the same as the initial person started it?? If it’s different, recruit someone from the audience to show the original message!