Autism, often known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a group of developmental disorders that influence how a person sees the environment and interacts with others. Art and craft activities that include the senses can be an effective method to improve your child’s attention span, and self-expression, and lessen any anxiety-related problems for children with ASD. Sensory activities can help children with ASD cope with the new normal of not being able to leave the house, especially during the lockdown.
Take a look at our selection of 7 fun, sensory activities, and don’t be afraid to modify them to your child’s specific interests, likes, and dislikes.
- Making a Sensory Bottle:
Fill an old plastic bottle with water, glitter, and a few drops of food colouring to make an eye-catching toy for your child. Insert a few buttons or marbles, then use a hot glue gun to secure the lid tightly. This activity is a simple approach to teach your child to engage and focus.
- Coin Rubbing:
A timeless classic in which even grownups can participate. Simply collect a few different coins, place a sheet of paper over the top, and ‘rub’ a colourful pattern into the paper using a mixture of crayons. Children with Autism will enjoy creating patterns while improving their hand-eye coordination.
Bonus Tip: Ask friends or family who travel abroad to lend you any coins they have collected and tell your child about their adventures.
- Edible Jewelry:
Make lovely necklaces and bracelets out of candy laces and licorice. Encourage your child’s motor skills development by threading on cereal with holes in the middle and other bright candy. When they’re finished, tie the ends together and your child will be overjoyed with their trendy (and edible) creation.
- Make a Sensory Collage:
For children with Autism, different textures and feelings can be overwhelming. Make a tactile collage with a modest selection of new materials such as aluminum foil, glitter, and magazine clippings to ease your child into messier activities. Your pre-schooler may enjoy being exposed to a larger variety of textures throughout time.
- Incredible Ice Painting:
This simple science experiment is sure to pique your child’s interest. Fill an ice tray with different colored acrylic paints and add wooden craft sticks in each compartment. Remove the paints and allow your child to create wonderful designs by swirling the melting over paper once it has frozen solid. This activity works best on a hot, sunny day.
- A Smelling Game Can Help You Improve Your Memory:
Fill a variety of small containers (antique, painted, jam jars work well) with a pleasant mixture of lavender, coffee, or soap. Make a seal out of cloth and a rubber band and then ask your youngster to identify the distinct aromas. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder enjoy learning about their senses and the roles they play in exploring their surroundings.
- Play the Magical Matching Game:
Matching games are an enjoyable approach to help your child learn. Try putting 10-15 different printed words on one side of a table and having your preschooler match them to the appropriate pictures on the other side. By utilising foods, animals, or numbers, you can simply adapt this game to fit what your child is studying at school.
