Related Articles
Fun Activities For Autistic Adults – I reiterated today that I need to get back outdoors and get my kids outside. I referred my son to an eye doctor and he is an expert in his field (at a local children’s hospital).
He says they’re seeing an increase in young children who are getting blurry or disoriented from playing with screens for long periods of time. Getting children outside is a priority for our health.
Fun Activities For Autistic Adults
Think about it! Parents are actually letting their kids play too many video games, causing permanent damage to their eyes.
Autism Medication: Medical Supports For Autism Spectrum Disorder
We’re strict about screen time in my house, and I want to revisit these ways to get your kids excited about being outdoors. Being stuck inside has led to a significant increase in screen time for many families.
The outdoors is not always open to children with disabilities. And adults! I’m not just talking about maneuvering on the ground, but emotional issues and other things can make it more difficult.
Many children with autism and other disabilities struggle with executive functioning skills. This includes thinking about, planning, and starting a new activity. We can assume that our non-disabled children can invent play on the playground or outside.
I’ve promoted Play Again many times. If you haven’t seen it and you’re a parent, you should. It’s about the epidemic of our kids spending too much time indoors and never playing outside. Part of the phenomenon is due to the culture of fear in which we live.
The Benefits Of Special Interests In Autism
I recommend you read Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy. Contrary to popular belief, our children are safe and sound in their backyard or playground.
Sometimes I can’t believe where we are as parents. I’m Gen X, so my generation did it to the kids. And we were not brought up that way!
Our children will be the decision makers in 30 years and they will not protect a planet they do not love and appreciate.
With that in mind, here are some ways you can encourage your kids to love the outdoors, be a part of nature, and appreciate the environment.
Kiwico Crates: Activities For Children With Autism
Sensory Playground: More and more playgrounds are becoming available. An autistic child may dislike sensitivity and avoid things like grass, sand, snow, and wind. However, there are plenty of outdoor activities that adventure seekers will love. Consider trampolines, swings, tumbling, chalk, water play, or splashing in a stream. They even make adaptive bikes for disabled teenagers and adults.
And here’s a tip – we got a trampoline from Make A Wish. If cost is an issue, there are options out there. Outdoor sensory fun doesn’t have to be expensive. For some water play, you need a plastic tub and a paper cup.
I don’t care what people think about my age. If you like something and you’re not offended by it, if someone is bothered by it, that’s their problem. My teenager loves to play in the water, why would I deprive him of fresh air, sun and water?
National Park Junior Ranger Program: This is a great program available at most national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, etc. Children complete a series of activities in the booklet and then show their work to a park ranger. That inspector will give them a badge if they have completed the job.
Outdoors Activities For Autism
There are over 200 badges that you can earn and in some cases you can do the work at home (print a booklet online) and then send it in to get your badge. A stay in the park would be ideal, but sometimes the budget does not allow for travel. We have done three so far and many activities are focused on environmental protection.
The park rangers told me that although this program is designed for children, most adults know to do it. If that’s too childish, they have a National Park Passport program.
Create a certified outdoor living environment in your home: the task is easier than you think. If you can create a shelter, a place for water, a place for food, and perform other tasks, you can get a certificate from the National Wildlife Federation. Once your area is certified, you can order a beautiful sign to hang on the patio of our backyard condo and it will remind you every day that you are helping the environment!
Grow your own food or tend a garden: With today’s big box stores, it’s easy to forget that our food (should) come from the earth. Everything we buy is sterile and in bright packages. Even if it’s just one or two container plants, grow some food. You can start with something easy that almost guarantees success. It reminds your kids that food comes from the Earth, which is another reason why we care about it. If you need a step up to enjoy your outdoor garden, you can even grow microgreens at home.
Executive Functioning Activities: 50 Skill Builders For Kids Of All Ages!
Learn: If your child has homework or you’re working on a workout at home, why not take them outside? There are many things you can do outside to help them remember what they are learning at school. And chances are, if you give a child the choice of homework indoors or outdoors, they will choose it!
Check out this Javelin STEM Challenge. If your kids like challenges and competition, this is fun. They make a spear and see which design goes the furthest. (Measurement involved)
Join a 4-H or Scouting group: 4-H groups aren’t just for farmers. Most of them are engaged in other outdoor activities besides farming. 4-H has even gone online to encourage kids in STEM educational concepts. Baden-Powell Scouts is a relatively new group of scouts.
But what I like about it is that it’s worldly and inclusive. It also goes back to the true roots of scouting and fosters a love of the outdoors.
Autism Activities To Do With Your Child At Home — Local Autism Services
Let them pursue their passions. Introduce them to a variety of outdoor activities so they can find something they’re passionate about. Bird watching, hiking, kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking; there are so many different things to do.
Normalize it: I don’t want it to sound like you’re encouraging your kids to watch TV when I talk about being outdoors. But as a society that watches waaaayyyy too much TV, TV normalizes things for us. When we see something over and over again, even if it’s something rare or unusual (like a random kidnapping, which is very rare!) it seems normal.
Make it a habit to be outside. Watching Sesame Street videos in the Grand Canyon because we just went there. If you’re going to watch a movie, try to find an outdoor theme. Read about it, talk about it, make it a part of everyday life instead of TV and video games.
If you are not already active, start reading small, just read more and eat on the patio. See on foot, then on foot, by bike and other interesting things. Search for your local, state and national parks online. You just might find hidden gems that have become family traditions!
Social Skills For Autistic Teenagers
Plan it: Plan it. Have screen-free days or screen-free weekends. But turn it into a positive. Instead of thinking of it as giving up something (screens), make it a “family outside game day” or something. Make a schedule like “30 minutes of screen time for every hour spent playing outside.”
And here’s a bonus tip, and the first finger points at myself. I’m afraid of it!
395 of 343 other summer camp activities (Note: this post was originally written during the 2020 pandemic, so the first two paragraphs may not apply. Summer camp ideas and summer camp activities are still great ideas!) Well , here we are. My son has been out of school for 2 days and still…
514 shares 6,346 more sign language animals Last year my son had a full assistive technology evaluation. One of the two methods we want to focus on is signing. I was away from him because of his failing health. But, now that it’s recovering, it looks like this…
Outdoor Autism Activities
4.7k more are sharing 4.5k educational apps | Pros and Cons According to NPR, 53 percent of American children over the age of 11 own a smartphone, and 84 percent of American teenagers do. However, with doctors and other experts constantly reminding parents not to spend too much screen time, we know that at least some…
1.6K more basketball word searches We’re all about basketball here! My youngest son loves it and plays in two different leagues. We love watching March Madness and NBA games. Of course, since we spend like this
Activities for high functioning autistic adults, activities for autistic adults, activities for severely autistic adults, activities for nonverbal autistic adults, fun activities for adults, activities for low functioning autistic adults, activities for autistic young adults, outdoor activities for autistic adults, indoor activities for autistic adults, social activities for autistic adults, sensory activities for autistic adults, activities for autistic adults near me
