What Can You So With This Ball? (Free Resource Included)
Why This One Question Belongs in Every Social Skills Training
There are a hundred tools we can use to evaluate ABA staff…
But few reveal more about how someone thinks, teaches, and connects than this one:
"How many things can you do with this ball?"
At first glance, it seems simple.
Maybe even silly.
But this prompt, used in an interview, training, or supervision session, can expose the heart of someone’s approach to natural environment teaching (NET), play, flexibility, and creativity faster than any checklist or quiz ever could.
That’s exactly why this free tool needs to be part of your training arsenal.
Why This Activity Works
This isn’t a test of clinical knowledge. It’s meant to be more of a reflection tool — one that invites vulnerability, playfulness, and creativity.
Here’s what it reveals about a person:
Their ability to think in the moment
Their understanding of functional, play-based interactions
Their capacity to expand one idea into 10 more
Their comfort level with unstructured teaching moments
Their willingness to model and co-create play with kids, not just instruct
We often talk about “being flexible” or “following the child’s lead” but those are abstract ideas.
This activity makes those concepts visible.
How to Use This in Training, Interviews, or Supervision
This activity can be used in dozens of ways, but the biggest value comes from how you debrief it.
Try this with your staff:
Hand them a small ball (or point to one).
Say:
"Tell me as many things as you can think of to do with this ball."Give them 30–60 seconds to think and list.
Ask:
How did that feel?
Were you surprised by how many (or how few) ideas came to mind?
What does this tell us about how we teach play?
How might we stretch a single object into a 10-minute NET session?
What might a child learn if we approached every toy like this?
Then, challenge the team to come up with 5 new ideas together that weren’t mentioned in the resource. You’ll be amazed at what comes out of these conversations.
What It Reveals About Staff and Group Leaders
This activity is especially powerful when evaluating potential social skills group leaders.
Here’s what you can observe in a team member’s response:
What You Want to See:
Uses multiple domains (motor, pretend, language, emotional)
Connects ideas to group games or peer play
Thinks aloud, laughs, shows flexibility
Builds off the imaginary (“It’s a baby,” “It’s a hot potato”)
Explains for to teach or expand ideas
What Might Concern You:
Gets stuck after 2-3 ideas
Doesn’t mention peers or social elements
Appears uncomfortable with creativity
Focuses only on physical actions
Only lists, with no elaboration
You’re not just testing creativity. You’re identifying who will:
Adapt on the fly when a learner disengages
Model turn-taking naturally
Build stories around objects
Turn chaos into connection
Adapt to changing circumstances
What This Means for Social Skills Groups
So many social skills groups fail because they’re too rigid, too scripted, or led by staff who are only comfortable when the plan goes perfectly. But not all children learn that way.
They need:
Engaging sensory experiences
Flexible teaching loops
Peer-centered play
Imaginative modeling
Social scenarios built around what’s already happening
If your staff can’t create 10 social opportunities with a ball…
How will they lead a group when the kids are running in different directions?
This activity trains, and reveals, exactly that.
Training Tips to Go Even Deeper
Use this as a warm-up in your next team meeting or supervision session.
In interviews, ask candidates to do this in real time and explain their reasoning.
During staff onboarding, pair this with a NET demonstration using just a ball.
Assign a challenge: Ask each team member to pick an item from the room and repeat the process (“What can you do with this ___?”).
Collect responses over time and make a “Play Ideas Bank” that everyone can add to.
📥 Download the Free Resource
We created this as a printable, no-strings-attached tool you can use right now in your next team training.
It includes:
A list of 30+ creative ball ideas
Coaching questions
Implementation tips for both interviews and team huddles
Click here to download "What Can You Do With This Ball?"
(No email required — just instant value.)
Ready to Go Deeper?
This activity is just the beginning.
If you want structured, evidence-informed, play-based social skills group programming — backed by tools like this — explore our flagship curriculum:
“The Social Pathway Curriculum”
Built for providers who want to run effective, engaging, and neurodiverse-friendly social skills groups.
View all packages here: See Curriculum Options
