Looking for Clues

See the clue. Work out what it might mean. Choose what to do next.

Ages 5–10
Autistic and ADHD children
Early readers
Free, no sign-up

How it works

Look
Your child looks at a picture and says what they can see.
Think
Then what that clue might mean — might, not must.
Check
Then whether there is a second clue worth waiting for.
Choose
Then what they could do, including simply asking.

Ready to try

Does someone need more space?Look for clues their body gives you.55 situations · ages 5–10

Coming to this collection

The same four steps, on other things worth noticing. These are written down here so you can see where this is going.

Room around people

Noticing when somebody would like a bit more room, and asking for room yourself.

Am I standing too close?
A child practises noticing the room between two people, and what happens to it when they move.
Is there room to sit here?
A child practises reading a bench or a couch before sitting down, and asking when it is not clear.
Where do I stand in the line?
A child practises noticing how much room people leave in a queue, and what changes when it shrinks.
Can I join this group?
A child practises noticing whether a group that is already talking has room for one more, and how to ask.

Talking with someone

Clues about whether a conversation is still going, and whose turn it is.

Does someone want to keep talking?
A child practises noticing the signs a conversation is still going, so they can keep it going too.
Does someone want to stop talking?
A child practises noticing when a conversation is winding up, and finding a way to finish it.
Is someone listening?
A child practises checking whether their words landed, and learns that looking away proves nothing either way.
Is someone trying to say something?
A child practises spotting when another person has been waiting for a gap, and leaving one.
Did I interrupt?
A child practises noticing when their words landed in the middle of someone else's, and what to do next.
Do they want to hear more about this?
A child practises noticing whether a subject is shared, and asking rather than guessing from one clue.

Playing together

Joining in, keeping a game going, and noticing when somebody has had enough.

Can I join the game?
A child practises reading a game before joining it, and finding the moment to ask.
Does someone want to keep playing?
A child practises noticing the signs a game is still going, so it does not end by accident.
Does someone need a break?
A child practises noticing when a friend has had enough for now, and that a break is not the end.
Is the game getting too rough?
A child practises noticing when a game has sped past what everyone signed up for, and how to slow it.
Is this a joke?
A child practises weighing more than one clue before deciding whether something was meant as a joke.

How someone might feel

Clues that somebody might be worried, stuck, bored or excited — and why one clue is never proof.

Might someone be worried?
A child practises noticing clues that someone might be worried, and that one clue on its own is never proof.
Might someone be frustrated?
A child practises noticing clues that someone might be stuck and cross about it, and checking before stepping in.
Might someone be confused?
A child practises noticing clues that someone might have lost the thread, and offering instead of assuming.
Might someone be excited?
A child practises noticing clues that someone might be excited, and that fast and loud can mean other things too.
Might someone be bored?
A child practises noticing clues that someone might be bored, and that moving about on its own tells us nothing.
Might someone be disappointed?
A child practises noticing clues that someone might have hoped for something else, and what helps afterwards.

Friends and groups

Noticing who wants to join, who wants a bit of time alone, and who could use a hand.

Does someone want to join in?
A child practises spotting the person on the edge of a game who has been waiting to be asked.
Does someone want some time alone?
A child practises noticing when a friend wants their own company for a bit, and that it is not a falling-out.
Might someone be feeling left out?
A child practises noticing who has ended up outside the group, and one thing that opens it up again.
Does someone need a hand?
A child practises spotting when somebody is stuck, and asking first instead of taking over.
Does someone want help right now?
A child practises noticing when help was not wanted, and that stopping is a way of helping too.

At school

Clues in a busy room: waiting to be heard, concentrating, needing quiet.

Is the teacher waiting?
A child practises noticing the clues that a room is being waited on, and what happens next.
Is someone concentrating?
A child practises noticing when someone is deep in a job, and picking a better moment to talk.
Does someone need it quieter?
A child practises noticing when a room has got too loud for somebody, including for themselves.
Is someone waiting for a turn?
A child practises noticing who has been waiting, and how turns get shared without an argument.

Yes, no and stop

Noticing when somebody means no, and saying your own no so it lands.

Did someone say stop?
A child practises hearing a no the first time, in words or in actions, and stopping straight away.
Does someone want their thing back?
A child practises noticing when a borrowed thing is wanted back, and asking before picking anything up.

Who this is for

Children roughly five to ten who are working out what other people need, and how to say what they need themselves. It is written for autistic and ADHD children among others, and it is careful about what that means: it teaches noticing other people's boundaries, and it does not teach anybody to sit differently, look differently or arrange their face. Every topic's grown-up section says so out loud.

Nothing is scored, nothing is saved, and there is no sign-up. A sitting is six situations and about four minutes.

More from Roo Bloom

People are different, and a clue can mean more than one thing. Everything here is one common way things tend to go, not a rule. This is an educational resource, not therapy or medical advice. 55 situations across 1 topic, with 32 more designed.