Autism Spectrum Disorder – Planning Activities

When it comes to planning a day of activities, autism spectrum disorder can present some unique challenges. We try to bring you a few basic ideas for all family members that can be used to help a routine packed with fun and learning. It might seem like the stress-free way to schedule a day will be to encourage your child with autism spectrum disorder to freely pick what they want to do, go outside when they decide they need to, or get a snack when they feel hungry, but we warn against it; without a daily or structured playtime, kids may become accustomed to depending heavily on parents, gadgets, or the same few things as a source of entertainment. They can, in fact, encounter an unorganized and inconsistent everyday routine that can raise questions about actions. The outcome: stressed-out parents! Read on for some tips and strategies to have a positively planned day that can better benefit you and your children’s emotional well-being in turn.

How Does Scheduling Affect Children with Autism?

This can be accomplished by mentioning the hours, such as breakfast , lunch , dinner, and snack times, which are now conveniently accounted for. Other periods should also be used, if necessary, such as napping. From there, the day can be broken down into smaller increments, equivalent to play time, school events and others for a child with autism spectrum disorder.

Exercise Time!

We recommend adding any workout time within your regular routine. To aid with these sorts of operations, there are a lot of outlets out there. Does yoga appeal to your child with autism spectrum disorder? There is a popular channel named Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube. A tale told by the teacher that goes along with the yoga poses is included in each yoga film. They have famous movies for children including Frozen, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, and more! This could help stimulate the youth’s curiosity.

Schedule time for music.

Have music time in the week, where everybody listens to music collectively. In a 2012 survey of 41 over ten-month period children with autism spectrum disorder, it was found that weekly music therapy sessions tended to improve general behavior, with the most change observed in inattentive activities.

Beyond listening to music, if you can get your child with autism involved in playing music, even greater benefits have been shown. Music is especially unique in that it stimulates both the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Music also allows children with autism spectrum disorder to tap into emotions and expressions they may find difficult to express verbally. Music Therapy can provide a variety of benefits to children with autism. Who knows? Maybe you will unlock a hidden talent in your child!

How Much Screen Time?

Finally, it is often proposed that desired screen time is expected as well, such as media on tablets or TVs. When parents need a child to be independent, time devoted to technology should be carefully used. It is better that parents create an established start and stop period, so your child knows what to expect. It can take some time and a touch of imagination to get into a routine like this; but, in the end, most people can benefit from techniques such as this that add structure and direction to our lives.

Our team of experienced ABA therapists will review the startup process with you, and review additional ways you can help to ensure your child makes improvements through ABA therapy. If you have any questions about starting ABA, please feel free to give us a call at (714) 696-2862.