Children with autism have different experiences with the world around them. This includes the way that they absorb different types of information such as sensory information and their short-term memory.
It can be difficult for children with autism to juggle and process all these different types of information coming in from the outside world.
This is why things like ABA therapy for autism is used to help these children feel less overwhelmed and overstimulated by everything around them.
What Is Sensory Play For Autism?
Sensory play involves the stimulation of the 5 senses. These are small, sound, sight, taste, and touch. It is important for children with autism to engage in this type of play as it allows them to get comfortable with having multiple senses stimulated at once without feeling overwhelmed.
In the outside world, there are a lot of sounds and lights that may be distressing to those with autism. Sensory play helps them get used to these types of stimulations and allows them to communicate more effectively.
Overall this leads to better cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development.
The Benefits Of Sensory Activities
Sensory play has several benefits for children, especially for those with an autism diagnosis.
Children participating in sensory play undergo stimulation of their brain which helps build connections and neuropathways. This helps them process information more effectively which is particularly important in children with autism who can have a hard time doing this.
Sensory activities also help develop important social and language skills as the child is encouraged to talk about their experience with others.
A lot of the activities to stimulate the senses increase the child’s motor skills as well as their coordination through the handling of different objects.
It also allows them to get comfortable with feeling and smelling different textures so that they are less likely to become distressed and overwhelmed in the outside world.
5 Sensory Activities
Before you start doing sensory activities with your child that has an autism diagnosis, it is important to have a good understanding of what affects them the most.
Having knowledge of known triggers will help you tailor the activities you do with your child and can improve the effectiveness of the activities.
A particular game might be better suited to one child over another so remember whilst engaging in each task that everyone is different.
Finally, these activities are a great opportunity to bond with your child and are actually great fun. Here are the top 5 fun sensory activities for kids with autism.
Finger Painting
This is a great activity to get your child’s imagination flowing.
Although it can be quite messy it often gives a lot of enjoyment to both the parent and child.
All you need is some paint, paper and perhaps some newspaper to put down so cleaning up isn’t as much effort.
Make Your Own Slime
Make your own slime, all you need is some cornflour and some water. Mix these together in a bowl and watch the slime form.
The texture of slime is quite unusual and is a great opportunity for your child to explore something new. To make it more fun, add food coloring to stimulate more senses.
Scented Playdough
You can get playdough either online or in any toy store. All you have to do is add something to it to give it a scent such as lemon juice or vanilla extract.
You can even increase the sensory stimulation by adding food coloring as well as glitter.
Mud Kitchen
This is a great option for getting your child used to the outdoor world. It’s a real hands-on experience where they can use their imagination to mold mud into whatever comes into their mind.
This activity gets them comfortable playing with things that are usually labeled as being dirty. You can use different utensils so they can sculpt their masterpieces and be proud of whatever they decide to make.
Make Musical Instruments
Who said musical instruments have to be expensive? Add some rice to a container and you have a shaker.
Use some spoons and turn some bowls upside down and you have a drum set.
Let your child play until their heart’s content, allowing them to get used to loud sounds and actually enjoy making them.
