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Autism Friendly Autumnal Adventures
- November 4, 2024
- Posted by: Louise Scrivener
- Category: blog
Autumn offers a multitude of sensory-rich experiences for children with autism and sensory challenges. The outdoors is the perfect playground for activities that provide opportunities for learning, communication and socialisation, and sensory exploration. So put on your wellies and enjoy everything that autumn has to offer.
Ideas to stimulate the senses and promote regulation:
- Pumpkin patch – visit a local pumpkin patch and encourage your child to explore the various colours, shapes and sizes before picking out a pumpkin (or two) to take home.
- Leaves – Make a huge pile of leaves and jump in! Stomp, jump, kick and roll around! Point out the crunching sounds, smells and the visual joy of watching the leaves fall after throwing them in the air.
- Gardening – Grab some rakes and encourage the kids to do some heavy work in the garden: raking leaves, dragging branches, sweeping and pushing a wheelbarrow all provide calming proprioceptive input for their nervous systems.
- Rolling down hills – A family favourite of ours! Rolling encourages large motor coordination, vestibular orientation and motor planning.
- Walking in the woods – the outdoors can provide a calm environment for neurodivergent individuals. Pack some snacks and encourage exploration. There are so many different textures to feel and natural play equipment to climb, balance and jump over.
- Outdoor attractions – day trips can be planned to minimise stress by picking locations that are less popular and have large open spaces (such as National Trust properties and arboretums). Consider going a little later in the day when it’s quieter. There are also usually cafes available for a caffeine or sugar fix!
- Nature treasure hunt – Create a visual checklist of seasonal items to find and tick off (e.g., a stick, a red leaf, a rock). This is a great communication and organisational game. Don’t forget the prize for collecting all the items!
Click here to download your free Autumn Hunt Checklist.Autumn Hunt Checklist
- Sensory bin – whilst on a walk collect a variety of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, acorns and pine cones. These can be put onto a tray or in a box to explore at leisure at home. Add a variety of spoons, tongs and cups to practise scooping, pouring and grabbing. Take the opportunity to talk about textures and colours and how they are associated with the season.
- Autumn crafts – there are so many different options here. A favourite in my home is apple stamping; cut up apples and dip into various colours of paint to design some autumn-themed artwork.
- Bake a seasonal treat – getting involved in the kitchen can be great fun and opens up lots of opportunities to practise turn-taking and following directions. Children can also be more open to trying new things when they have been involved in the making process!
Visual support strategies like symbol based communication boards are a great way to promote language during your autumn adventures. Point to picture symbols whilst talking about what you are doing, what you can see and what you’d like to do!
Click here to download your free Autumn Communication Board. Autumn Communication Board