Sometimes trying to come up with activities for autistic
kids that will be fun, educational and not cost a lot can
be a struggle. So it's reassuring to know that there are
a number of possibilities out there, it's just a matter
of finding some that will appeal to your child's personal
tastes. The following are examples of popular activities
for autistic children between the ages of 7 and 11.
Indoor Activities:
- Singing - autistic children gain a number of benefits
from singing. Children who are non-verbal can hum, make
sounds, or play musical instruments such as whistles, tambourines,
drums, kazoos, or small keyboards. Repeating sounds, making
up new tunes, or even learning educational lyrics can be
very useful for helping kids to learn and may also provide
them some much-needed sensory stimulation - the same they
would get from yelling, only more pleasing to the parental
ear! Mimicking one another's notes and tunes can be an important
social experience that encourages interaction. Experiment
with different sounds and different types of music to find
the ones your child enjoys and responds best to.
- Funny Sounds - making and mimicking funny sounds
can be a laughter-filled social learning experience for
autistic kids and their parents. Children enjoy the sensory
outlet and repetition element of this game. You can try
writing down a number of different animals or items on different
pieces of paper and whichever you choose you have to make
the appropriate noise.
- Castles - building castles out of just about anything
can be a great deal of fun. The type of building "blocks"
depends on the motor skills of the child. It can range from
plastic or wooden alphabet blocks to large "Lego"
or "Duplo" style blocks, or even playing cards
if they're manually dexterous.
- Safe Emergencies - these games are educational
based but can also be fun to. They involve enacting the
right procedures for what to do in an emergency event. This
includes what to do in case of fire and other urgent situations.
The important part of these games is to build a calm routine
around them.
- Simple Board Games - Begin with simple or basic
board games and increase the difficulty level as your child
gets older and learns how to work with the rules of the
games. Many board games are enjoyable activities for autistic
kids because they are relatively predictable and provide
a routine. They also encourage turn taking, but make sure
losing is never a big deal, it's just an outcome. Otherwise
they may associate negative emotions with the game and refuse
to play.
Outdoor Activities:
- Simple Childhood Games - think back to your childhood
and the games you used to play. For many children there's
no reason why they can't take part in basic childhood games.
As long as they are not too socially complex, many autistic
children can have a lot of fun playing games such as tag
or follow the leader. Keep in mind that the best activities
for autistic children don't require them to keep close or
extended physical contact with other people. You may want
to make sure that you stick to games that focus on your
child's unique skills to add comfort and confidence to the
playing.
- Organized Sports - many children enjoy taking
part in organized sports like any other children their age.
Aim for sports that allow them to take part without too
much sensory stimulation and that doesn't require lots of
equipment. Golf and baseball are good activities for autistic
kids, whereas sports such as tackle football may not suit.
- Water Balloons - autistic children can often benefit
from various sensory stimulators and water balloons can
fit the bill. Tossing them about, or holding and squishing
them can be lots of fun. This also encourages children to
play with others when it comes to games such as "hot
potato" - tossing the water filled balloon to one another
pretending it's a hot potato.
- Skipping Rocks - if you are fortunate enough to
live near water and your child is responsible around water,
skipping rocks can be a great way to have fun and use arm
muscles, encouraging the development of motor skills. If
you have a swimming pool that is large enough, you can try
skipping plastic floating disks instead.
- I Spy - whether trying to pass the time in the
car or sitting in the yard, this game is a great way to
learn colors socially interact with others.
These activities for autistic children are a great way
to have fun, learn important lessons, and develop basic
social skills without spending the earth.
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Finding printable teaching activities online for children
is easy. There are a wealth of sites that offer great resources
for teaching children at home.
Sites for parents offers a HUGE listing of websites that
offer quality educational printables. http://www.sitesforparents.com/
For parents of autistic children the resources are smaller,
but still available. While I believe there are wonderful,
affordable materials out there for parents to purchase,
it's nice to try things for free before committing to purchases
that may not work for the individual child. If you have
a laminating machine at home (who doesn't, right?) then
you can actually substitute many purchased learning materials
for free ones.
Do2Learn has some wonderful illustrations that can be used
to help autistic children create and maintain a schedule.
Print, laminate, add Velcro stickies.. POOF! You're done.
I have to commend this site for giving away for free what
a lot of parents have been paying for. http://www.do2learn.com/
LearningPage has a great selection of worksheets and printable
books that would be excellent for both typical children
learning their fundamentals and autistic children learning
vocabulary, sequencing, and categorizing. The site is free
but requires registration. High five for the developers
of this resource as they provide an almost complete K-5
curriculum's worth of activities. http://www.learningpage.com/
MES-English.com is a site that has wonderful printables
for those learning English as a second language. The illustrations
are snappy and the concepts uncluttered. They would work
well for teaching vocabulary, daily routine, adverbs and
adjectives, and prepositions to children with autism. I
myself use their preposition cards. This is a truly stunning
site. The printables are offered in many different formats
so that you can choose which best suits your needs. I'm
very fond of the PowerPoint layouts because it allows me
to print 6 images to a sheet of card stock, which I can
laminate for my child to use.
While I'm sure that these materials were not created with
an autistic child in mind they are just as impressive as
those that are. I have to give the creator some serious
kudos on that.
If a child is learning a second language they are an excellent
resource as well because most of the printables are available
in more than one language. Aside from flash cards they offer
coloring sheet, phonics worksheets, printable stickers,
and great clip art. A wonderful free site!!! http://www.mes-english.com/flashcards.php
And just for fun... Here's a random paper toy. It's an
autism awareness car!
http://www.buttonsandmore.com/toycar/ulthm.htm
Here are some good games console for kids with autism,
including free site games, board games, video games, etc.
As you know, children who suffer from autism have specific
interests, at least one. Find out what it is and start from
there.
1. The Wii. This game is all about movement. Auistic children
make the same movements as his person, it?s helpful for
controling his character. Plus, it?s simple, for there are
very few buttons. Many kids with autism love it. It?s an
fantastic invention.
2. Free site games:
www.starfall.com
This website adapts to children from 3 to 6 years old.
It can read stories and teach sounds and letters.
http://www.autismteachingtools.com/page/bbbbgt/bbbbgz
There are some color bingo and sound matching games on
this site page.
3. Computer games, such as mysteries, puzzle games, or
strategy games (such as Age of Empires or Age of Mythology).
They are fun and not as graphic as some video games.
4. Board games. Candyland is a good one. It helps children
to learn counting and turntaking. The game ?Sorry? can help
kids with rules and number identification. Scrabble and
simple Charades can help with social skills, too.
5. Games for a group of students: ?Around the world?. One
student stands in back of another (who is seated at his
desk). You say (let?s say you are doing verbal opposites),
?BIG?, and the two children who are ?it? have to come up
with the verbal opposite. First one who says it moves on
to the next seat. Loser has to take the winner?s seat. Reward
anyone who makes it all the way around, or after however
many correct answers works for your group.
6. Go fish. This game works on language, memory and attention.
And it?s fun to play.
7. Try the old fashion tetris. Buy Nintendo DS at an electronic
store and ask the saler for games that wouldn?t trigger
a tantrum, games that are calmer.
Websites:
http://autismgames.googlepages.com/
http://freeprintablefun.org/2008/08/how-to-create-folder-games-for-children.html
http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Social_Skills_Activities_for_Kids_with_Autism
http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/kidscraftsactivitiesblog/tag/crafts-for-autistic-children/
http://www.do2learn.com/
http://pbskids.org/
http://tv.disney.go.com/playhouse/
http://www.thewiggles.com.au/us/playground/
http://www.sensoryworld.org/
