Some of the best work happens when we are playing! And some of my favorite games to play are games focused on word-retrieval. 

These are games I used to (and still do) play for fun routinely.  You can buy the actual game, you can make it up in your head, or you can make your own materials for a game. 

Even if my client is not diagnosed with a word-retrieval deficit, I have found these games helpful for many other deficits, including:

Reading Comprehension 

Written Expression

Verbal Expression

Social-Pragmatic Language Disorder

If you have a hard time categorizing words in your brain, you will find it difficult to retrieve them when you need them. This poses challenges which may manifest in the following ways:

• When reading a word that you don’t know, you may not be able to figure it out by context if you can’t access other words like it
• When summarizing a story, you may not be able to “use your own words” because you don’t have access to synonyms
• When describing an event, you may not be able to think of other ways to describe how you felt or what you saw then simply stating the facts
• When trying to engage with others, you may only be able to talk about topics you know about since you don’t have semantic maps for lesser-known topics

Help your clients, kids, or loved ones who have deficits like these by playing word retrieval games! 

If you are interested in purchasing one of these games, I’ve included Amazon links. If you use the link, I will receive affiliate compensation. Thank you!

Time: 5-30 minutes/game

Games:

• Scattergories
• Scattergories Card Game (To-go version)
• Last Word
• 20 Questions
• Apples to Apples
• Catch Phrase

I also like to play a category game that I simply call, “The Word Game”. I think of a category, write #1-10 on a whiteboard, and see how fast the other person can name 10 things. We can play together if your partner needs help. This great for playing anywhere, even in the car. If you don’t have a whiteboard, then it’s a great way to work on working memory, as you have to remember the 10 things as well. Here are a few suggestions for some starter categories:

Things that:

• Are Round
• Are At The Zoo
• Start With S
• Have 3 Letters
• Are Winter Sports
• Are At School

Remember, for any of these to be true word-retrieval activities, it is important that the items aren’t visible in the room/space. For example, don’t make the category “Name 10 Things You Can See Right Now”. You can certainly use this category if you want to target labeling, but word-retrieval has to be unseen so that we can work on our brain’s ability to access the word on-demand.

It is helpful to tell your client or loved one to “close your eyes and make a picture” in order to strengthen visualization skills as well as semantic-mapping/word-retrieval skills. 

I hope this is helpful to you as a practitioner, parent, or partner of someone in need of communication support!