Autism and Holiday Breaks: Designing a Vacation Activity Schedule

Extended breaks from a routine can be refreshing and rejuvenating for many of us. That being the case, it is often comforting to fall back into your own pattern of daily life. Some of those affected by autism, though, have a very tough time adjusting to changes in their schedules and their surroundings. Therefore, a typically reinforcing vacation can spark numerous behavioral challenges and may leave you wondering what happened!

While it isn't possible to recreate an individual's school or daily schedule during holiday breaks and longer school absences, it is possible to help add a little more structure. Rigidity, on your part, is not the goal here (it is a vacation after all!) but most individuals with moderate to severe autism will often choose to follow a short activity schedule when given the choice. A short schedule such as this will most likely resemble what he/she is using at school; and therefore ease their anxiety or frustration. Unlike a school activity schedule, your vacation schedule can be composed of mainly fun or relaxing 'activities' with a few educational or chore associated items added as you see fit. An example of a vacation activity schedule could look like this:

10:00....
Watch TV
Play Outside
Computer

11:00...
Clean-up Room
Empty Laundry
Practice Piano

12:00 Lunch

Notice that there are choices when it comes to leisure and chore/educational activities. Also, sometimes there aren't any choices, such as at Lunch Time. Making sure that this schedule is followed to a tee is not the goal here. It will add some structure to their day and (very importantly) give you the ability to add unsuspected activities like Going to Grandmother's House. These unplanned events have the potential of intensifying a routine-break anxiety flare-up. When these trips/events are added to the vacation activity schedule in advance, it can help prepare the individual for this change in their routine.

Although it is a good goal to help individuals with ASD become more flexible when it comes to following (and not following) routines, these vacation schedules can really help in the mean time. Many of us (myself included) use a written or digital system to schedule our days, weeks or months. The digital era now provides any number of devices to help in this area, from PDA's to smart-phones, laptops, etc. My eyes were opened to this issue when I first began teaching students with autism. After a relatively short month and a half of summer vacation, I was preparing myself for a somewhat challenging week of teaching. After all, my students most likely haven't had many demands placed on them throughout the summer and now I would be asking them to complete any number of challenging activities. To my total surprise, most of my students seemed to enjoy the fact that they could now continue their school routines and behavior challenges were low! Again, it is important to add periodic changes to routines that will help create more flexibility. Remember to have fun and allow your son/daughter the ability to follow a routine that will help them acclimate.

The piano can be a great addition to any activity schedule!

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Good Activities For Children With Autism

Here's some good and fun activities suggestions for autistic children:

1. You could play with him in a swimming pool. Make a splashing game or a kick game. Get some simple pool toys or beach toys like beach ball, floating rings, etc. Sing a song so he could swim with the beat and feel relax. Remember to keep a good eye on the child while in a pool.

2. In a class, you could print out some pictures of eating, sports, going to the bathroom, sleep and everything that may happen in his daily life. Let him make a schedule for himself, he should like this activity, because children with autism take constant schedules very seriously. And if the schedule they followed everyday is broken, it will ruin their day badly.

3. Big tupperware items filled with rice or beans will be fun, you can put little toys in them and have the autistic child put his hand into the rice or beans to find them. The game could make a mess, but they would love it.

4. Sensory play is widely suggested, too. You could take the child to a children's museum if there's one nearby. Commonly, there will be something that could interests the child.

5. Structured activities with a clear start, middle and end are always good for children with autism because they like rules, organization and structure. Gymanasitics is a common game that autistic children do well at since there is less reliance on language(children with autism often have little communication skills) but a lot of motor movement and imitation.

6. If music can calm the child down, you can introduce different instruments to him, with some music playing gently in the background. You can let him beat a drum and learn different rhythms.

7. There are some therapeutic horse riding groups that you can participate in, children can learn to feed and take care of horses in their lessons.

8. Every child with autism is different, you should find out his likes and dislikes and continue to do the things he seems to enjoy.

Hope this helpful!

http://www.autism-world.com/index.php/2008/07/10/good-activities-for-children-with-autism

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Resources And Activities For Autistic Children

Many of us are not aware of the term of "Autism", the proper definition of the term is still not known. It can be said that it is the development disability commonly found in children (3 - 5). Autism occurs due to the neurological malfunctioning and disorder. It results in the communicational and interactional problems. The children suffering from the autism needs challenges to bring their life into the normal course. You can give it in the form of funny games, where they can participate normally with their other normal kids. Of course you cannot expect an autistic child to play normally like other kids. But there are other numerous activities for autistic children. But before anything, you should keep in mind of :

The participants of the game- It has to be noted who else are participating in the game? Make sure that there is no one who might ridicule the child with autism, instead choose the kid who might help the child.

The level of the activity - the activity must not be so that require the high communication with the other participants or does not need the skill which the child may not be having.

The potentiality problems - the game should not be accompanied by a huge noise, physical contacts, any stress or disturbance for the child. These things often harm the child, discourage them for which they tend to shy and keep themselves away from others.

The activities for autistic children should include the performance that includes the dealings with the sensory activities - like touching an object with closed eyes and identifying the object.

Sometimes it can be of the form of describing an object with a look at it.

It can also include the recitation of poems and singing songs, playing sports like basketball, golf or developing hobbies like fishing, gardening rather than playing footballs or crickets. They can also be given the musical instrument to be played.

Giving them the chance to draw and paint beautiful pictures, or arranging small plays and drama where they can act.

If you are searching for the resources for autism treatment or thinking of how to help the innocent autism affected kids there are helpful ways.

• Style of learning - not the verbal learners always, sometimes the kids learn by visualizing the objects shown to them.

• Understand their capacity - the autism affected kids are often are found having problems in using the pens and pencils, so let them use the computers whenever possible. It has been found that the autism affected children are very good learner of the technological progression.

• Motivation - ask them to draw the pictures of the objects, animals, things and then let them search the internet for the same and gather information.

• Minimizing the distraction as much as possible - try to keep the children away from the distraction that can take place due to the change in the classrooms, physical contacts, teasers etc.

• Special skills - there are many kids who are found having the special abilities. But, it happens that they themselves are not aware of the fact. It's the prime responsibility of the parents, the teachers and the elders to recognize them and guide them in that that way where they find interest.

Thus using these resources for autism, you can now help the autistic children and can create a normal and better environment for them to live in.

Alexis Wilson taking care of the autistic children comments on activities for autistic children, resources for autism.

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10 Great Activities For Autistic Children

Sometimes trying to come up with activities for autistic kids that will be fun, educational and not cost a lot can be a struggle. So it's reassuring to know that there are a number of possibilities out there, it's just a matter of finding some that will appeal to your child's personal tastes. The following are examples of popular activities for autistic children between the ages of 7 and 11.

Indoor Activities:

- Singing - autistic children gain a number of benefits from singing. Children who are non-verbal can hum, make sounds, or play musical instruments such as whistles, tambourines, drums, kazoos, or small keyboards. Repeating sounds, making up new tunes, or even learning educational lyrics can be very useful for helping kids to learn and may also provide them some much-needed sensory stimulation - the same they would get from yelling, only more pleasing to the parental ear! Mimicking one another's notes and tunes can be an important social experience that encourages interaction. Experiment with different sounds and different types of music to find the ones your child enjoys and responds best to.

- Funny Sounds - making and mimicking funny sounds can be a laughter-filled social learning experience for autistic kids and their parents. Children enjoy the sensory outlet and repetition element of this game. You can try writing down a number of different animals or items on different pieces of paper and whichever you choose you have to make the appropriate noise.

- Castles - building castles out of just about anything can be a great deal of fun. The type of building "blocks" depends on the motor skills of the child. It can range from plastic or wooden alphabet blocks to large "Lego" or "Duplo" style blocks, or even playing cards if they're manually dexterous.

- Safe Emergencies - these games are educational based but can also be fun to. They involve enacting the right procedures for what to do in an emergency event. This includes what to do in case of fire and other urgent situations. The important part of these games is to build a calm routine around them.

- Simple Board Games - Begin with simple or basic board games and increase the difficulty level as your child gets older and learns how to work with the rules of the games. Many board games are enjoyable activities for autistic kids because they are relatively predictable and provide a routine. They also encourage turn taking, but make sure losing is never a big deal, it's just an outcome. Otherwise they may associate negative emotions with the game and refuse to play.

Outdoor Activities:

- Simple Childhood Games - think back to your childhood and the games you used to play. For many children there's no reason why they can't take part in basic childhood games. As long as they are not too socially complex, many autistic children can have a lot of fun playing games such as tag or follow the leader. Keep in mind that the best activities for autistic children don't require them to keep close or extended physical contact with other people. You may want to make sure that you stick to games that focus on your child's unique skills to add comfort and confidence to the playing.

- Organized Sports - many children enjoy taking part in organized sports like any other children their age. Aim for sports that allow them to take part without too much sensory stimulation and that doesn't require lots of equipment. Golf and baseball are good activities for autistic kids, whereas sports such as tackle football may not suit.

- Water Balloons - autistic children can often benefit from various sensory stimulators and water balloons can fit the bill. Tossing them about, or holding and squishing them can be lots of fun. This also encourages children to play with others when it comes to games such as "hot potato" - tossing the water filled balloon to one another pretending it's a hot potato.

- Skipping Rocks - if you are fortunate enough to live near water and your child is responsible around water, skipping rocks can be a great way to have fun and use arm muscles, encouraging the development of motor skills. If you have a swimming pool that is large enough, you can try skipping plastic floating disks instead.

- I Spy - whether trying to pass the time in the car or sitting in the yard, this game is a great way to learn colors socially interact with others.

These activities for autistic children are a great way to have fun, learn important lessons, and develop basic social skills without spending the earth.

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