Matching Emotions
Autistic children often feel emotions just as deeply as their peers, but recognising emotions in others and communicating their own can be hard. Whizkid Games helps children practise identifying emotions through playful scenarios, matching facial expressions and body language to the feelings they represent.
Why this matters
Reading a face is a fast, subtle skill that most people are never taught. When it does not come automatically, social situations become guesswork, and a child can miss signals that everyone else treats as obvious.
Naming emotions also underpins managing them. A child who can identify what a feeling is has somewhere to start when that feeling belongs to them.
What your child practises
Reading facial expressions
Matching a face to the emotion it shows, starting with clear, distinct examples.
Reading body language
Noticing posture and gesture as part of how a feeling is expressed.
Connecting feelings to situations
Working out why a character feels the way they do, not just what they feel.
Building an emotion vocabulary
Attaching consistent words to feelings, so they can be talked about later.
How the games work
- Expressions start clear and distinct before subtler ones are introduced.
- Emotions appear in context — a character in a situation — rather than as isolated faces.
- The same emotion words are used consistently so the vocabulary carries over into daily life.
Whizkid Games was developed using DSM-5 criteria with input from specialists, educators and families, and is designed for children with level 2 and 3 autism. For background reading on this skill area, see the parent guide on Autism Games.
Start free today
Download Whizkid Games and get six free games to begin with, including activities from Matching Emotions.