Summer Activities For Children On The Autism Spectrum

Summer is the perfect opportunity to have fun with your grandkids while helping them continue all the great skills they honed during the school year!  Here is a list of ideas to help you do that while keeping sensory overload to a minimum…

• Host a character day – this is like a movie day but your grandchild dresses up like their favorite book, movie or TV character and then spend the day watching or reading about that character.
• Plan a scavenger hunt outside – check out these sensory scavenger hunt ideas on Pinterest.
• Create your own sensory activities like coloring lima beans.

DIY Sensory Activities for Kids

Summer is the perfect opportunity to have fun with your grandkids while helping them continue all the great skills they honed during the school year!  Here is a list of ideas to help you do that while keeping sensory overload to a minimum…

• Host a character day – this is like a movie day but your grandchild dresses up like their favorite book, movie or TV character and then spend the day watching or reading about that character.
• Plan a scavenger hunt outside – check out these sensory scavenger hunt ideas on Pinterest.
• Create your own sensory activities like coloring lima beans.

DIY Sensory Activities for Kids

• Create a regular routine with specific types of activities on specific days and track everything on a calendar that everyone can see! Check out this article 82 Summer Activities for Families with Special Needs that outlines ideas for Safety Sunday, Make Something Monday, Time to Read Tuesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday, Somewhere Fun Friday, and Social Skills Saturday.
• Set up an arts and crafts station – just line up the paint, glue, glitter, paper and see what happens or plot out some specific crafts like Balloon Paint Stamping (filling up balloons with water and tapping them into bowls of different paints to print on paper or clothing).
• You can get a free Access Pass for the National Park Service which is your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. The pass covers entrance fees and day use fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges. It’s available for U.S. citizens or permanent residents with permanent disabilities. Download this federal recreation sites and find out more on their website here.