Based on how individuals with autism perceive the world, arts and craft activities that incorporate the senses can often help improve a child's ability to express themselves. These types of activities may also improve your child's attention span.
Be Generous With Rewards: Be encouraging and praise the child after finishing each task or for good behaviour. It is important to appreciate the child's effort and often reward the kid with extra playtime or treats they like. Keep informing the child that you are proud of his or her good behaviour.
Activities of daily living (ADLs) refer to “activities oriented toward taking care of one's own body” that are “completed on a routine basis,” such as bathing or showering, toileting, dressing, eating and feeding, mobility, hygiene and grooming, or sexual activity.
Tactile Activities: Tactile activities such as finger painting or playing with playdough can help improve fine motor skills and sensory processing abilities. Visual Arts: Creating art using visual mediums like crayons or markers is another excellent way to develop fine motor skills while providing a calming effect.
Although each case is unique, many people with autism tend to spend money on things they want, like video games, movies, or anything else that they enjoy collecting.
Your child might get upset if they aren't allowed to touch. Your child might get upset if too much is happening around them, if they find a particular noise overwhelming, or if the light is too bright.
For some children, sensory toys such as squeeze balls and fidget toys, weighted blankets, their favorite videos, or activities can help them manage their emotions. You can set up a calming routine that the child practices on a regular basis, and make it part of their daily schedule.
For children with ASD, art and craft activities that incorporate the senses can be an effective way to improve your kid's attention span, self-expression and reduce any anxiety related worries.
In some cases, several therapists work together, using LEGOs to build motor skills, facilitate speech, and enhance social communication. Therapists involved with LEGO therapy may be occupational therapists, speech therapists, behavioral therapists, or even psychologists.
These interests are extremely common among people with autism: 75 to 95 percent have them. An interest may involve collecting items such as postcards or dolls, listening to or playing music in a repetitive way, or focusing intensely on a narrow topic, such as insects fighting.
Science fiction and fantasy are often of great interest to autistic people. Depending on their interest levels and abilities, people on the spectrum may learn every detail of a particular "universe," write their own stories, watch and rewatch movies, read comics, attend conventions, or even make their own costumes.
Individual sports are great for a child with autism, particularly martial arts such as karate, capoeira, judo and jiu-jitsu. It's worth noting that we don't recommend martial arts as a sport if your child is aggressive or cannot control themselves.
Common life experiences such as facing the death of a loved one, failed romantic relationships, employment problems, etc., can exacerbate autism symptoms in adults. In these cases, autism symptoms can get worse with age, but not necessarily due to the disorder neurologically worsening.
For parents of such children, communication is a problem that compounds the stress & anxiety of parents. Parents face the challenge that their child is unable to communicate their needs and wants. With children at times unaware of nonverbal communication and cues, the challenges of parenting get compounded.
In the brilliant first account of autism by Kanner (1943), Kanner wrote that “loud noises and moving objects” are “reacted to with horror” and things like “tricycles, swings, elevators, vacuum cleaners, running water, gas burners, mechanical toys, egg beaters, even the wind could on occasions bring about a major panic” ...
Sensory issues can be a common challenge for individuals with autism. They may overreact to a sound, a texture, or a smell that may seem normal to others. For example, the sound of a vacuum cleaner or a loud motorcycle can be too overwhelming for someone with autism.
The main laughter that children with autism produce is the voiced laughter. It is described as a tonal, song-like quality and is associated with positive emotions in typical controls. Not to worry for their laughter is not forced.
Social behavior and social understanding
Basic social interaction can be difficult for children with autism spectrum disorders. Symptoms may include: Unusual or inappropriate body language, gestures, and facial expressions (e.g. avoiding eye contact or using facial expressions that don't match what they are saying).
Kids with autism may experience a number of different issues with food. They may prefer foods that feel a certain way in their mouth, like crunchy foods or soft foods. Kids who only eat soft foods may have weak jaw muscles that make eating chewier food unpleasant.
And that increases the risk of meltdowns. Research also tells us that many individuals with autism tend to have strong preferences for carbohydrates and processed foods, while rejecting fruits and vegetables. This, too, may reflect an aversion to strong tastes and textures.
Hobbies such as collecting stamps, playing cards or board games, drawing and photography can also provide opportunities for enjoyment, as well as increased self-confidence and motivation individuals on the spectrum.