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October 19, 2020Every kid loves to have fun and children with ASD are no exception. Regardless of whether your child is on the mild or severe end of the spectrum, there are a plethora of activities you can incorporate into a daily routine to help your son or daughter create healthy behavioral patterns and develop cognitive skills.
Although it may seem that the majority of ordinary childhood activities and games are too challenging for an autistic child, you will be surprised to learn how easily many of them can be adjusted to become a perfect match for your kid. Do not be afraid of trying new things, carefully explore possibilities, and all chances are you will make your child happy and content. There you have it: fun activities that will leave a good impression on every autistic child.
Start With Choosing The Right Activity
With an array of options to choose from, it is very easy to get lost in that sea of excitement and start trying them one by one. This is the wrong approach in the case of an autistic child, the key to success is to figure out the activity that is interesting to your kid before ever introducing it.
The right way to start is by observing your child’s play without asking too many questions. Parents who are familiar with pivotal response training, a unique child-led therapy designed to help autistic children develop and apply a range of vital skills, know that letting a child be in charge of his/her fun activities is the only way to reach their goals. If you get an idea, it’s time to join in but avoid trying to impose rules (even if you’re sure of “the only right” way to play a certain game. Instead of being instructive, communicate, and do your best to attract your child’s attention.
Think of what your child loves to do and try to make every such activity interactive. For instance, if your daughter enjoys watching Sesame Street or similar TV shows, you can prepare your own performance at home. Similarly, if your son is a passionate collector of baseball cards, perhaps he would be interested to pay a visit to a training session at the local club.
Go Lego
It’s hard to find a child who is not a big fan of Lego. In fact, a lot of adults play with it. Fortunately, the majority of children with ASD are not only interested in these colorful building bricks but also really good at creating amazing objects. If you are a happy parent of a kid that can spend hours turning bunches of blocks into unique masterpieces, then you already have a great activity that delivers a lot of fun. In addition to that, you can watch together Lego movies, play Lego-themed video games, and even go to Lego art shows.
Puzzle Solving
Children with ASD have a knack for solving all kinds of puzzles. According to some studies, those kids who are non-verbal are even better at finding the right place for every jigsaw piece. When you master your skills, you can compete as a team against your friends or other family members.
Hiking And Walking
Since children with ASD are rarely good at team sports, you have to find for your child another way to enjoy outdoor activities, all the more so, many autistic kids have plenty of energy. Hiking and walking can be a lot of fun, especially if you throw in some extra bonuses in the form of bird watching or train spotting. If you live in the city, you can find your favorite place in the park where you can spend quality time together.
Hide N’ Seek
While some parents are concerned that playing hide and seek might be dangerous for their child, you can always adapt this all-times fave to the needs and capabilities of your kid. For instance, if your son is apt to run away, play this game inside or within a safe fenced-in space. If your daughter (just as the majority of other children) is impatient and can’t wait for being discovered, give her a favorite toy or book to help pass the time. If needed, you can also create visual support to provide language models (numbers for counting or simple phrases like “I found you”) during the gameplay.
Playing is an amazing way to help children with ASD reap the benefits of being involved in fun activities that let them develop an array of viable skills and healthy behavioral patterns. Perhaps not all of the aforementioned activities will suit your child but you can use them as starting points to create the one that matches perfectly your son or daughter.
