Thank you to Super Duper Publications for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon. All opinions expressed are my own.
Getting to know people is something that my 6 year old Aspie, Quinn, has trouble with. Kids on the spectrum tend to have trouble knowing what questions to ask or even know they should ask questions when interacting with others. Social cues are typically not their forte. So, when I saw products from Super Duper Inc. that would help him to ask questions that would build relationships, I knew I wanted them. They were kind enough to send us both Topic Talk and All About You, All About Me to review.
The Topic Talk Conversation Card Game takes learning about people and gives it a fun, competitive twist. In a group, players take turn drawing Topic Cards and then discussing the selected topic by using up their Conversation Cards on their turns. Each player gets a chance to both share and ask questions, but it’s done in a fun way so that kids like Quinn don’t realize that they’re actually building meaningful friendships. This game is fun and quick to play, plus it's simple to set up and stores away nicely. It also keeps everyone interacting the whole time so no one is sitting there bored waiting for their turn.
All About Me, All About You is what Super Duper calls a “Fun Deck” and, even though it is similar, to Topic Talk, it has a different value. This deck features questions to ask when interacting with peers. The cards are fairly identical to the Topic Talk ones but this deck is more portable and can be used anywhere. Just pull a card from the deck, prompt the question to your child, and watch as they learn something new about someone. I think this would be great for busier group activities at places like the park, restaurants, or in a larger classroom. The concepts are the same but the uses are very different.
Even though these two products are similar, they each have a different value in our lives and I will surely use each to help Quinn learn new things about his friends and relatives. Both of these products store in a metal container and can be purchased at www.superduperinc.com. Topic Talk retails for $32.95 and All About Me, All About You is priced at $12.95.
