Activities for autistic children

Having children with autism in the classroom can be a challenge for teachers. For this
reason, below we will see some techniques for working with a child with autism in the
classroom .

Previous recommendations before starting…

1. The first thing we must keep in mind is that children with autism hate unforeseen changes .
In fact, this causes them a lot of stress, so it is common that when faced with these
situations they begin to get upset, scream or want to escape (it depends on each particular
case).

2. Use visual support tools . This is often used a lot with children with autistic disorder . In
these cases you can plan activities for autistic children with cards detailing each activity
that will be carried out during the school day, visual cards. This way they will know (with
this visual support) what will happen and they will anticipate it.

3. Take into account unforeseen changes and anticipate them too . You will have to be very
attentive to recognize when an autistic child begins to get impatient.

4. Establish short but effective routines . To start with these activities for children with
autism , it is preferable that they pay attention at first for a few minutes. Then reward this
attention with some activity or prize that they enjoy.

5. Recognize what motivates the child in a particular way . Each child with autism is unique
and unrepeatable. Some tend to be calmer, others more euphoric, some love to play with
paints, others prefer games with harder dolls (like cars, for example). Take the child's
interests as a starting point. This will make the task much easier, you will achieve their
concentration and some initial attention.

Techniques to work on activities for autistic

children in the classroom
 Draw circles with a thick outline . Then place different colored tempera paints on both
sides of the counter so the child can start painting them. It is important that they understand
that they should paint the inside of the figures and not the outside.
 Establish routines (helping yourself with visual cards) with numbers . Children with
autism are very structured. For this reason you must adapt the class so that they are
comfortable within that structure.

 Give him 1 task at a time . Remember that they have no filters and receive all the stimuli
at the same time. Hence, they cannot concentrate or pay attention easily.

 Use songs that are familiar to them and include them as auditory reinforcement so
that they identify certain tasks.

Games to use in the classroom with children with

autism
Table games
You can use adapted puzzles or with images that are of interest to the autistic child in
order to achieve greater concentration in class.

Final suggestions
It is important that you keep in mind that children with autism can lose interest in the task
quickly or seemingly suddenly.
However, you must learn to recognize the signs prior to these acts of loss of interest on
their part.

Being parents and keeping your children active and busy is very difficult
nowadays. They are increasingly demanding and get bored with anything.
If we add to this that our son has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum
Disorder, things get complicated.
People with autism do not spontaneously learn to organize their free
time: breaks, weekends, vacations, they need explicit teaching on how to
plan and occupy their free time.
It is important as a parent to know how to correctly choose those
activities that are ideal for your child.
My advice is the following: Take into account your child's tastes and
interests, be aware of what activities they can do according to their age and
level of development and finally find out about all the resources you have
both at home and in the neighborhood.
As a parent you may have realized that certain activities have to be
adapted. You yourself will be the creator of the materials you are going
to use. There are many activities that can be difficult for people with
autism in their standard form. If you make some adaptations you can
make some activities more accessible.
When making these modifications to adapt them to children with autism,
the following must be taken into account:
 TIMING: The time that the activity lasts must be made “visible”. The
activity must have a beginning and an obvious end.
 CHOICE: People with autism must learn how to make their choices and not
always choose the same thing. Use paper, a blackboard, photos, drawings,
pictograms, written words... show your child visually the possibilities that
exist and let him choose.
 Knowing your child's tastes and interests will allow you to enjoy him/her more.

Once you have taken into account the requirements that I mentioned
above, I propose a series of leisure activities to do together with your
child with autism and some brief guidelines on how to carry them out.
Discover this list of leisure activities to enjoy with your child with autism.
Have fun sharing time with him!

Games for children with autism

All the games we propose can be adapted to the unique characteristics of
the child. Below I list a series of games with which you can encourage
communication, social relationships and the development of imagination
in your child with autism.
Social-motor games for children with autism
They are movement activities in the absence of objects where the adult is
the one who takes the initiative. Examples of this are: tickling, wheelie,
spinning. They can be more complex to include rules such as the potato
ring or the catch-up. These types of games are very rewarding for all
children and also for children with autism spectrum disorder since they
encourage anticipation and the desire to repeat.
Imitation games for children with autism
They can be movements (hitting, clapping), with vocal sounds, with
objects... Imitation games can be a great way to include yourself in your
child's interests.
Functional game with object and doll for children with autism
Functional play may sound Chinese to you, but if I tell you little kitchens,
toy tools, miniature food, doll clothes, cars, trains... All of these are
functional games with objects or with dolls. Depending on the level of
development of your child with autism, we will use few materials (a doll
and a bathtub or the slide), on other occasions, we can take out the doll's
clothes, the sponge and the food with the doll, being able to do various
actions. My advice is that it can be useful to make game scripts that
represent the specific story. Language in this type of games is very
important. You have to adapt it and speak simply and using key words.
For example, to bathe the doll, to the slide... In this link you have more
information about the best toys for autistic children .
Cause-effect games for children with autism
An example of this would be toys in which pressing a button produces a
sound or appears a light. You can also use games in which you have to fit
pieces together. This last type of game allows us to work on frustration
tolerance with our son with autism.

Visual-spatial games for children with autism

Puzzle type games, cubes, Legos. Here the guidelines that I tell you are
that you will have to “mold” your child. That is, you will have to point out
the gaps in the pieces, help him fit Legos together, etc. Advice: Always
reinforce him. It doesn't matter if you do it well or badly. The important
thing is that you try. Say: “Okay,” “It's okay, let's try again.”

Exchange games for children with autism

Games like ball, water balloons, hoops, etc. In case you are not
interested in this type of game, which can happen, in principle I would
recommend that you start by hiding the ball, putting it under a cushion or
under the child's shirt and yours as well. Then, as in the previous cases,
perhaps you can mold your child to pass the ball to you. These types of
games may be difficult for your child at first, but if you make it a routine,
you will spend hours playing.

Sensory and creative games for children with autism

They are those games in which materials are used that give pleasant
sensations (sand, clay, crayons, watercolors, finger paints, fabrics, papers
of different textures, etc.) These types of games drive them crazy! They
love them!

Rules games for children with autism

Games such as tag, board games (goose, ludo, bingo). You will surely
have to adapt the rule games, simplifying them, making the rules very
explicit and visual. For example, putting on a cap every time it is a
player's turn to play.
 There are many and diverse games for you to enjoy with your child with autism.

2. Musical activities for children with autism

With music you can dance, jump, move and gesture following the
rhythm. Listening to music can be an individual activity but if you want it
can also be a shared activity. Music therapy is a widely used treatment for
Rett-type autism . Here are some ideas for you to do with your child.
 Dance, jump and move around the room or the house to the rhythm of music.
You can hold your child's hands and guide their movements.
  Accompany the songs with gestures. There are some music groups for
children that interpret songs with gestures. If you are inspired, invent
gestures with your children for a song that you like.
 Sit in front of your child with autism with his legs over yours and move your
arms as if you were rowing together to the music.
 Put your child on a horse on your back and move to the music.
 Put your child's feet on yours and dance holding on.
 Learn a song and sing it together. With this we make it easier to understand
the lyrics of the songs. My advice is to use visual supports for the most
significant words.
 Music relaxes. You can put on calmer music and lie down next to your child
with autism to listen to it. I recommend that you take advantage of the
moment and start doing massages on the back, arms, face and tickling
whenever your child likes it. Read how to calm a child with autism ?
 Invent songs with rhythms of other already known songs to describe or tell
what you do together.
 Create your own music using instruments: flutes, drums, rattles, water
pipes... I don't know, anything you can make noise with. Let your child
experiment with the sound of one instrument and then another.
I recommend that you click this link if you want more information about
autism and music. Do you know music therapy?

3. Activities with stories for children with autism

To plan the activity we must take into account what your child with
autism does with books, his ability to understand, his interests and the
type of drawings that make sense to him.
 Books made of different materials : cardboard, fabric, relief, etc. If your
child likes to bite or tear pages, it is better to look for a sturdy book.
 Books with many images are very appropriate for pointing out or naming
pictures. For this purpose, store catalogs (of toys, food or other interests of
your child) can be used.
 Interactive books , in which your child's action has an immediate effect,
which favors your child's interest.
 Leisure activities with your autistic child: Have fun with him!
 Predictable books , with repetitive words and phrases that encourage
interaction with the book and are especially suitable if your child likes music
because it has rhythm and rhymes.
 Books with simple stories , suitable if your child has a high comprehension
ability. They are books with a clearly defined beginning, middle and end and
deal with topics familiar to your child.
 Personalized books , with photos of the child himself and his immediate
environment.

4. Computer activities for children with autism

There are many computer games that are often very fun and interesting
for people with autism spectrum disorder. These computer activities are
usually very attractive, with sounds and based on cause-effect, such as,
for example, Pipo's collection, The Reader Rabbit... Many of them are
educational games created with the intention that children learn by
playing. Some of them, such as CogniFit, have been developed by
neurologists specializing in this type of disorders and are aimed at
improving the cognitive skills of children with difficulties .
The important thing is that your child has fun and enjoys it. Surely you
will have to help use the mouse or explain what to do. Beyond
commercial games, the computer also has other possibilities:
 Paint on the computer with programs such as Paint or Notebook with which
your child with autism can play with changing the colors, thickness of the
outline, using stamps...
 Write what you have done during the day or afternoon on the computer
 See photos of your child with autism from his birthday, on vacation, from
activities he has done and discuss them together.
 Read electronic stories. On the Alanda Association website you can find
classic stories adapted with pictograms for the computer.

5. Manual and creative activities for children

with autism
Manual activities are activities done with the hands and this includes
everything we can imagine, so it is not necessary to use very expensive
materials or make models with great detail, but rather recycled materials,
newspapers, toilet paper rolls, plastic jars, straws, chopsticks, magazines,
cardboard boxes...
 Leisure activities with your autistic child: Have fun with him!

For any manual activity the general indications would be:

 Choose activities appropriate to your child's level and make sure you are
using non-toxic materials.
 Present all materials on the table or floor where you are going to work.
Allow your child to touch and explore them.
 Explain the steps to follow to carry out the activity. You can use a drawn
step guide that will always be in front of you so that you can point out each
of the tasks.
 Exemplify each step by giving a model of how to do it.
 Constantly offer verbal help, adapting the language to your child. Always
clearly and never in a negative tone. Tip: It may be useful to speak in the
infinitive if your child with autism's level of understanding is not very
high.
 Mold your child to perform each step correctly.
  Do the steps that your child cannot. For example, cut with scissors or use
glue.
For paint activities , make sure your child doesn't eat them. You can use
crayons, markers, pencils, watercolors, tempera paints, etc. You can use
any type of paper. You can also paint on the floor, table or wall by
sticking continuous paper (better if your child with autism is small),
always trying not to stain anything.
In activities with plasticine : you can hit the table with your hands or with
plastic hammers, make churros, make shapes with different molds,
shapes with your hands and then play with them and sing songs. For
example, if you make a snail out of plasticine, then you can sing “snail,
cabbage, cabbage, put your horns out in the sun…”
Another type of simple craft that you can do with your child with autism
can be:
 Crumple newspaper and make shapes.
 Make necklaces with painted macaroni
 Make a train with cardboard boxes joined with threads and play the train
accompanied by songs...
 Stamp stamps made with potatoes dipped in paint on paper. In my opinion
they really like this type of activity and have fun. Test it!
 Dye water in a bowl with pinocchio paper and make colored bubbles by
blowing the water with a straw.
 Plant lentils in yogurt with cotton and water
 The colored water can be placed in ice cube trays in the freezer and then
painted with ice on the hard paper.
 Make rattles with empty actimel bottles or small bottles of water and
vegetables.
 Make binoculars with glued toilet paper rolls
 Make colored glasses with cardboard and transparent colored paper and play
to see the world in many colors.
 Play painting on the table with chocolate or shaving foam
 Make fish tanks with empty water bottles. It is filled with sand and blue
water and fish cut out of eva foam are placed there.
Play and have fun with your child with autism