Remember Simon, the light and music memory game? I have seen memes about Simon being the source of their anxiety, so this might not be one of your go-to therapy games. That is okay! I have a lot of options so that a lot of different kinds of therapists find something useful here.
The game involves four colored lights in a circle: red, blue, yellow, and green. Each color has its own musical note. Simon plays notes one at a time, and you copy the pattern to see how many you can remember. You continue until you cannot remember the pattern.
Sure, it can be a little bit stressful. But that just means it’s an opportunity to practice distress tolerance in real time! Games that build some amount of tension are great for practicing other coping skills in the safety of the session, where the child has the power to end the game if they become overwhelmed.
Plus, this simple activity flexes those memory and focus muscles.
The online version of Simon. has the same rules as the original. Either you pull up the game and share your screen, or have your client pull up the game and share their screen. You can take turns and see who can remember the longer pattern, or take turns within the same run and help each other try to remember even longer patterns!
This is yet another simple activity that can transfer to telehealth very easily. What kinds of memory games have you used in your telehealth sessions?