5 Sensory Play Ideas for Children With Autism

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can present in children of any age. Many children with autism experience sensitivity to sensory activities, meaning changes in temperature, texture, light, or sound can cause them stress and panic. Due to this, many parents use sensory play to introduce their children with autism to different sensory experiences while keeping them comfortable and entertained. Here are five sensory play ideas that children with autism can enjoy safely at home.

Painting with fingers or footprints

Finger painting is an activity that children have enjoyed for years. This involves providing an array of paints and a blank surface for a child, then allowing them to use their hands to paint on the canvas or paper. You can also place paper on the ground and allow children to make footprint paintings, which introduces the sensory experience to their feet as well as their hands. If you’re worried about making a mess, you can cover your floor with newspaper or another type of material so your floors won’t get dirty.

If you want to add another element of sensory stimulation to finger or footprint painting, you can make homemade paints out of food. Items like ketchup, mustard, jam, and other brightly-colored substances can make great edible paints. You can also add some food coloring to whipped cream to make your own vibrant, edible shades. Aside from introducing children to different tastes, using edible materials can also reduce the risk of the child ingesting paint, as even non-toxic paints are not meant for consumption.

Making slime

One of the most popular activities for children in recent years, making slime can be a perfect sensory activity for children with autism. This is because it involves mixing ingredients with varying textures to create a new substance with yet another new texture. As many children with autism struggle with feeling textures that are new to them, doing an activity like making slime at home can help them get used to feeling new textures while in the security of their own home. You can also save the slime you make for future play sessions.

Blowing colorful bubbles

Bubbles can be a great way to keep a child busy, especially during the summer when they can play outside. To encourage your child to get used to different textures, you can mix your own bubble solution at home using water and dishwashing liquid. For even more fun, you can add food coloring or paint to separate bowls of your bubble solution to produce colorful bubbles. This can also help your child learn their colors and the process of color mixing, as you can demonstrate how mixing different colors produces new shades.

Making and playing homemade instruments

Many children with autism find music to be soothing, especially with the added sensory experience of playing it themselves. If you don’t have musical instruments in your home, you can still make music with your child by building your own instruments. These can be extremely simple, such as creating a drum from an overturned pot or bowl, and your child can delight in the realization that they can use household items for fun.

Musical sensory play can benefit children with autism by getting them used to different types of sounds. It can also help them learn their own strength, as they’ll notice how much effort it takes to produce sound from the different instruments. You can use natural materials when making your instruments as well, such as filling a bottle or cardboard tube with dried beans to make a percussion shaker.

Squishing water beads

Water beads come in a huge variety of colors and sizes. They typically work by placing them in a bowl of water, which the beads absorb, leading them to grow much larger. The texture of filled water beads is similar to jelly, and children can enjoy feeling the beads and squishing them between their fingers. Water beads usually last for a while once they’re filled with water, so you can use these for multiple play sessions.

You might also place a container of water beads on the floor so your child can explore it with their feet. This can give them even more sensory exposure and show them how to safely explore a new texture.

These are five of the most popular sensory play ideas for children with autism. You can also look online for ideas about new ways you can introduce different sensory experiences to your child. Whatever activity you choose, your child can enjoy some fun and sensory stimulation that makes them feel happy and relaxed.