Summer is an opportunity to get people with autism to experience familiar activities in different situations. Experiencing something familiar in a new environment is an important part of development. This process teaches an understanding of how beneficial change can be and how exciting it can be to try something new.
Arts And Crafts In The Sunshine
Arts and crafts is an excellent developmental activity for people with autism because it teaches the association between shapes and colors. It also encourages creative thinking and hand-eye coordination. Most arts and crafts activities take place indoors, but that can change when the summer sunshine starts turning the outdoors into an all-day playground.
When weather is nice, get outside with your child and do some arts and crafts in the sunshine. You can use the various nature features around you such as trees and birds as models for the things you make and help your child to associate summer with creativity.
Group Play Time
The weather during the summer tends to be more reliable than any other time of the year, which is why it is such a great idea to schedule play dates with others during the summer. The fresh air and sunshine can encourage social interaction and can help almost any introvert to be inspired to interact with other people. The best part is that if the play time is not working for one or more members of the group, then they can still play in the sunshine by themselves and get exercise.
Word Association
During the summertime, the birds are out and the trees are in full bloom. Throughout the year, parents try to challenge their children with word association games that are played on tablets or cards. During the summer, you can turn the word association game into something much more substantial by helping your child to actually see and potentially touch the objects they are learning about.
You can use simple objects such as rocks and trees to teach people with autism how to identify real objects as opposed to images on a tablet. If you want, you can also try to do some advanced word association by trying to teach your child to identify different types of birds, flowers, and insects. Learning can be infectious, and your child can get excited about learning when they are actually touching and seeing the objects they are identifying.
Walks
Everything nature has to offer is on display during the summer, and that is an ideal time to get your child outside and walking among the trees and animals. If your child has a difficult time processing a lot of new information, then you might want to stick to simple areas that do not have a lot of objects to study. But if your child is one that loves to learn, then simple nature walks can be exhilarating experiences.
Simple activities that your child is accustomed to can suddenly become adventures during the summer. You should take advantage of the opportunities the summer has to offer and try out new developmental activities that will benefit someone with autism.
Eden II Programs helps the autism community by providing programs and services combined with lifespan support to improve the quality of life for individuals with ASD and their families. Eden II has the greatest ability to help individuals with ASD reach their highest potential for independent, self-sustained living through high-quality ABA services, educational programs, adult day programs, group residential care, family support, respite, and a number of other services. Eden II Programs uses the evidence-based practices of ABA to develop skills, promote independence, and change lives for the better.
For information on programs and services available at Eden II, please visit us online at eden2.org or email us at info@eden2.org.
